6 Months
by SammiSunshine00
Summary: A.L.I.E informed Clarke that earth only has 6 months left. After revealing that information to the council, plans immediately start to get drawn up, an old friendship flourishes into what could be something more and the lives of the people on the ground are more precious than ever. - Slow burn - BELLARKE - Takes place right after the S3 finale. -Reviews are greatly encouraged!
1. Chapter 1

The room was spinning a little as Clarke tried to stand. Not only were the effects of the transfusion still subsiding, but seeing Lexa one final time was still fresh in her mind and her heart ached, wishing she were still as real as she were in the City of Light.

Abby grabbed her arm, holding her steady. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just a little woozy still."

Bellamy butted in, "Why don't you sit while we try to find a way down?"

"No, no it's fine. My mom is going to need help checking the wounded. You guys go, I'm already feeling better."

Bellamy shot a concerned look to Abby and she nodded; it meant 'Take care of her.'

Once Bellamy and his team left, the room was filled with groaning and anguished people. The others were dead or in shock. Abby immediately ran to Jackson to snap him out of his shock.

"Jackson! I need you to listen to me, I need help so I need you to hold on to your feelings right now so we can get to work." He simply nodded and slowly stood up with Abby's help. Clarke stood over Pike's body, checking his pulse. He was definitely dead, Octavia made sure of that.

Clarke surveyed the area once more and took a few steps to see over the balcony, watching the people run around in daze after being in the City of Light. The looming threat of an enemy they couldn't fight sat on her shoulders like two tons. How was she going to tell everyone that after all of they had been through, that they were still doomed?

A few days later, who ever was left made their way back to Arkadia. The council was meeting to finally hear what happened with ALIE in the City of Light. The council now consisted of Kane, Abby, Bellamy, Raven, Indra, and Clarke. They were all looking at Clarke, waiting for her to start speaking. Their stares bore into her like white hot beams and she didn't know where to start.

"Um. So." She cleared her throat."While I was in there I met Becca. She was the one who showed me the kill switch. She shuffled uncomfortably. "What took me so long was while I was trying to finally stop her, ALIE told me something, something that has to be true. There's no way she was lying because Becca confirmed it."

"What is it?" Kane insisted.

"Earth has about 6 months left because it's turning into the worst radioactive waste land we ever thought possible. We wont survive it. It will start slowly with acid rain, people will start having symptoms and eventually it will wipe us all out."

Clarke looked up at their faces and they were all blank. She was expecting some kind of shock or fear but nothing, from any of them. Kane had his arms folded, standing behind the chair he never sat down in.

"Well, your reactions are not what I expected."

A laugh came from Kane's mouth then, "I think it might be that it's just such a normal thing to finally kill us, after everything we've been through anyway. An evil, emotionless AI, a dying Ark in space, a crash landing into Earth, a crazy man on a mountain who wanted our blood, violent territorial tribes, no offense to you Indra, and what wipes us out is radioactivity."

Bellamy started laughing too then, and it was chain reaction. The whole table was laughing, and even the great Wanheda let out a small chuckle. Kane was right; of course the thing they suspected would kill them to begin with has finally caught up with them.

The laughter quieted after a few moments and Raven was the first to speak. "So are we going to try to do anything to stop it? Cause like Kane just said, after all we've been through, I'm not going down without a fight."

"Well, that's what I told ALIE before I hit the kill switch, that'd we'd figure something out."

"What exactly did she say was going to kill us?" Abby asked.

"She said there were over a dozen nuclear facilities around the world that were already beginning to break down. She said that over ninety six percent of earth will be uninhabitable by the time it happens."

More silence.

"What about the other four percent?" Indra stated.

"Raven, do you think there is anyway to narrow down which four percent might be untouched by the radioactivity?"

"uh, maybe? It would be a long shot but maybe I could figure out some trajectories with Kyle." She was already standing. "I'll also see which facilities are closest to us. Maybe there's a way to slow them down to buy us some time, or maybe we could move camp further away."

"Good ideas, Raven. Update me when you get somewhere." Kane called to her on her way out of the door.

"Alright, as for the rest of you. Let's keep this quiet until we can get some information back from Raven and Kyle. I want to have every possible answer for our people when we finally call a meeting."

Everyone nodded and some yeses were heard.

"What if there is no solution?" Clarke was looking down at the table as she spoke.

"Then that is what I'll tell everyone and we will just have to be grateful for our final days."

Clarke nodded, not as optimistic as the rest but still, she had some resolve that Raven may find an answer.

"Alright then, everyone. We'll meet again when we have progress, good or bad." Kane looked to Indra as she was filing out of the door after Abby, "If you could keep this quiet amongst your people as well, that would be great. I don't want anymore uprisings until we know more." Indra simply nodded and walked out.

Bellamy caught up with Clarke down the hall, on her way to her room. "Clarke! Wait up! I wanted to talk. Do you have a sec?'

"Yeah." She said, simply.

"Come somewhere with me?" he asked.

Clarke's eyes had questions but she let Bellamy lead the way.

A little while later they ended up at the drop ship.

"Why are we here?" she asked, confused and slightly annoyed.

"Cause this is where it all started. This piece of junk is what brought us to this hell hole and now look at us." He laughed. "I really brought you here though, because seeing as we may actually die this time around, I want to start looking for some redemption and I thought it would be best to start by apologizing to you."

"To me? Why?"

"Because when we first met I was a royal dick to you and to everyone else for that matter. I thought about killing you, maybe once or twice, and then I got to know you and never stopped thinking about it." Clarke actually laughed that time. "And then after I said I would look after our people, I turned into this person I never wanted to be, just because of how angry and guilty and I was." He paused. "So for all of that, I am truly sorry."

"Bell… We've all done things, whether directly or indirectly to each other that we regret. I accept your apology."

They both sat down at the entrance of the drop ship, and listened to the birds sing nature's song.

"I'm sorry too," Clarke proclaimed. "I never wanted to leave. I just felt so empty. I felt like nothing in the world was ever going to be good or whole again if I was part of anyone's life. I'm Wanheda, the bringer of death. I chose to kill 300 innocent people and I live with that every day and having that burden inside me was too much; I couldn't function normally anymore. I-"

Bellamy cut her off, "Clarke, I carry that burden with me too. I look in the mirror and barely recognize myself because of it, but there was no other choice. Either we were going to die or they were."

"I know, but that doesn't make it any less wrong. "

There was more silence. Bellamy agreed too much with her last statement to continue.

"I'm sorry for leaving you too, Bell. We grew so much together out here. We learned from each other, and trusted each other. It was wrong of me to leave you when you felt the same way I did. I realized that no one else would understand how we feel but us. I can't imagine how alone you must have felt."

"I ended up going on a killing spree so that might give you a bit of a hint as to how I felt."

"Point taken."

"I accept your apology as well. I know it was hard for you to leave. I wanted to go with you, honestly. I wanted to get as far away as I possibly could, but I remembered Octavia and I couldn't just go. I wish I could have done what you did. I'd take the place of Wanheda any day."

"I'm not sure the hair would suit you."

Bellamy laughed again, a deep laugh, and it was music to Clarke's ears; to make at least one person happy for once.


	2. Chapter 2

The days that followed were tense for the council. They were all harboring a secret that they weren't allowed to tell anyone. Raven worked around the clock with Kyle trying to find more information about the nuclear facilities and so far they figured out where one was, except it was where the continent of Europe once was so that wasn't going to help them, as they were in what used to be North America.

"It's kind of inspiring to see everyone just spring into action." Abby said. Her and Clarke were in the clinic re-stocking shelves of bandages and gauze. "No one even thought about giving up, there was no hesitation to try and fight this."

"That's something about the human spirit, I guess. We are always going to fight for our right to live, no matter what… no matter the cost."

Abby looked down at the packages in her hands before speaking, "I'm glad you're back, Clarke. I can't imagine how difficult it is for you, after everything that has happened, after everything you had to do. Just know I'm here if you want to talk, about anything."

Clarke looked up at her mom. The guilt she felt about leaving her rushed into her chest so fast it almost took her breath away, but Abby understood. She knew Clarke, and why she had to do it, so that consoled Clarke slightly. "Thanks, mom. And I'm sorry I left before. I never wanted to hurt you."

"It's okay, sweetheart. I know why you had to go. I may have done the same thing myself if I were you." Abby closed the gap between her and Clarke and hugged her tightly, and for once Clarke let herself be embraced and vulnerable.

Later that night, Clarke met Bellamy again and headed to the drop ship, as they had done every night for the past five days; this time they brought some of Monty's hooch and some snacks from the previously locked kitchen.

"We are gonna be in so much trouble." Bellamy exclaimed, already slightly buzzed on their walk to the drop ship.

Clarke grabbed the bottle from him and took a swig, "No, we're not. We saved everyone, for now anyway. No one can get mad at us anymore."

"Okay, you have a point." Bellamy chuckled as they entered the fence surrounding the drop ship.

Clarke opened up the blanket she brought and sat, or more like fell, onto it.

"Maybe no more hooch for you?" Bellamy asked taking a seat next to her.

"No, give me that! I've killed people. I need it. " Clarke took another long swig and laid back to look at the stars.

"So I heard from Murphy that you and Lexa were uh, more than just co-ambassadors."

Clarke turned her head slightly to see Bellamy's eye level equal to hers.

"Yeah, something like that. She was different… refreshing, like I hadn't had water for weeks and she was a river."

"I'm sorry." Bellamy squeezed Clarke's hand, showing her he meant it.

"Me too. I should have never gotten close to anyone." Tears were falling down the side of her face now, as if the universe was finally giving her permission to cry.

"I know that hearing this wont make you feel any better right now, but one day, years from now, if we make it that far, you'll realize that none of this your fault and you did your best for the people you love."

Clarke sat up wiping her tears even though they kept coming. "When did you get so wise?"

"What are you talking about? I've always been this way." Bellamy laughed.

Clarke laid her head on his chest and continued to sob quietly, knowing for once, she was okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Clarke awoke stiff and uncomfortable from lying on the hard ground all night. The sun was hitting her face as it filtered through the tree braches, making her squint through the morning fog. Bellamy was still asleep, his chest lifting and falling gently. He looked calm for the first time in months, like the darkness of this world hadn't touched his mind yet.

There was a noise in the woods then, a cracking of braches and dead leaves. Bellamy immediately awoke, sensitive to noises like that at this point. They both stood, Clarke holding her knife still sheathed, Bellamy gripping his gun tightly waiting for whatever or whoever to emerge from the trees.

There was a voice they knew all too well, "Calm down, love birds. It's just me."

Octavia appeared and walked past them to the drop ship.

"O, what are you doing here?" Bellamy inquired.

"I always go out to hunt at night and then I come here to sleep during the day. Everyone is too loud and annoying at camp. Clearly, I should have stayed away longer this morning."

"It's not like that, Octavia." Clarke pointed out. "We were…drunk and fell asleep."

"It sure sounds like that to me. But whatever, no judgment here."

"You really shouldn't be hunting at night, by yourself. It's not safe. We may be okay with TriKru again but that doesn't mean there aren't any more radioactive animals out there or lost reapers left."

"I don't know how many times I have to say this, I can take care of myself. But hey, if I go down, at least I'll see Lincoln again. And mom." With that, Octavia disappeared into the drop ship.

Clarke gave Bellamy a worried look. "Maybe I should go talk to her really quick. She's still upset with you."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. I'll wait for you here."

Bellamy sat back down and Clarke headed into the drop ship.

"Octavia?" Clarke called out.

"Up here." A clearly annoyed Octavia answered.

Clarke climbed the steps to the top level and saw that Octavia had created a makeshift bed for herself and even covered up the gaping hole that Murphy left with some extra parachute fabric.

"How are you doing?" Clarke asked, as she sat on the hard metal floor.

"How do you think I'm doing?"

"I think that I know how you feel. You're alone. The man you loved died. You feel like you don't belong anywhere. – Two people I loved died here and even though I'm back I still don't feel like I belong in Arkadia… Even though Lincoln died, it doesn't mean you should."

Octavia looked down at her legs, tears falling from her eyes; these days it seems like they never stop. "I just feel empty. So empty. Lincoln was… he was my home. And I finally felt like I belonged somewhere, but I was wrong, It's like I'm too TriKru for SkiKru and to SkiKru for TriKru. I don't fit anywhere, just like on the Ark."

"Octavia, you belonged on that Ark just as much as the rest of us and you belong here just as much as the rest of us. And even if you don't believe it right now, we need you. We all need you, especially your brother. It may not seem that way, but he wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, literally. "

Octavia wiped her tears and laid down. "Yeah, yeah. He's still got a while before I can give him another chance."

"Just think about what I said okay?"

"Sure thing, Wanheda. Now let me go to sleep. I'm tired."

Clarke rose and left, shutting the latch behind her. She met Bellamy outside and packed up their things.

"How is she?" he inquired.

"Honestly? I don't know." Clarke said, truthfully.


	4. Chapter 4

Arkadia was bustling and lively under the unawareness of impending doom. Monty and Jasper were friends again; both were part of the farming section now. Kane thought it would be therapeutic for them. They mostly planted things of the inhalable kind and watered the plants when all the real labor was completed.

Jasper ran up to Bellamy and Clarke as they entered camp, "Hey, Raven needs to see you. She told me to let you know if I saw you."

"Great, thanks Jasper." Bellamy said, nodding to him.

Jasper smiled at Bellamy and glanced quickly at Clarke and headed back to his garden.

"He'll come around." Bellamy comforted Clarke, "It's still new."

"Yeah. I'm not sure it'll ever get old though."

The duo met Raven in her lab and she immediately began talking. "Guys, where have you been?"

Clarke went to speak but was immediately cut off, "It doesn't matter. Look, I found something!" She flipped her white erase board around to show a roughly drawn map, which looked like their surrounding area. "I located the nearest nuclear facility. It's a hundred miles north of Polis. It's tucked behind a mountain so that's why it was so hard to find."

"Great, have you told Kane yet?" Bellamy interjected.

"Not yet, I just told him I found something. He's calling the meeting as we speak."

"I also found out that the four percent of the earth that wouldn't be touched is unfortunately smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean so yeah. That doesn't seem doable. "

"Not really, no." Clarke said, a little defeated.

A few hours later the entire council sat where they sat just five days previously. Raven had all eyes on her. "So if we could just get there and I could check it out, there may be some way of containing it, if the facility isn't too degraded yet."

"Won't it be even more unsafe the closer we get to it?" Abby asked.

"Correct, but before we lost Mount Weather we brought over whatever hazmat suits were left along with a pretty substantial supply of oxygen. They should be strong enough to stop any radioactivity from getting to us." Raven said.

"Were you able to find any other facilities in the area?" Kane asked.

"Yes, there is one approximately five hundred miles north in what used to be Canada and another one at the southern most point of the country. Those are the only ones on this continent. If we need to move I'd recommend we move west since we'll be headed directly away from any of the facilities."

"How many people will you need?" asked Bellamy.

"Probably close to ten, but nothing more since we don't have enough suits. I need to bring some equipment, plus the oxygen tanks so we'll need the rover."

"I'll go, plus one more. Ice nation covers most of that region. It'll be easier to pass if I show my face." Indra said.

"Great idea, Indra." Kane nodded at her. "Clarke, if you're up for it I think you should go as well. Your mom needs to stay, as the only doctor, but you have almost the same amount of medical experience as her at this point. I don't want anyone out there, in case of anything, without medical assistance."

"I mean, I have no problem going. It's Ice Nation that may have a problem with seeing Wanheda again."

"Maybe she should stay?" Abby insisted.

"I'll take care of Ice Nation. Once I explain what we're doing they won't have a problem letting any of us through." Indra said.

"Alright, then it settled."

"I'll go as well." Bellamy suggested.

"Alright, so far that's five people." Kane pointed out.

"Monty should go if he can. His expertise with computers could be handy." Raven said.

"And Octavia." Clarke said. "She needs to get out of here for a bit and she's one of the best fighters we have if we run into any trouble."

Bellamy shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but he let Clarke's suggestion slide.

"Alright, seven. Any other ideas?"

"Kyle can come. He can help me out a lot too." Raven said.

"Okay, I'll assign the remaining two spots to guards. You'll need more protection for such a long trip." Kane said.

"Actually Kane, if my people could take the remaining spots it would be better. Less hostile guns, more familiar faces."

"Of course, Indra. Good point."

"I'll put together a supply kit for you, Clarke." Abby said.

"Okay. So when do we leave?" Clarke asked, and all eyes averted to Raven again.

"Uh. Two days." She said, a little unsure, but they were all confident she would get her work done in time to leave.

"Okay. Since we have that figured out, I'll be holding the camp meeting tonight. Indra, you can do the same." Kane said.

Indra nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you all at eight in the meeting hall?"

Yeses were heard around the table and everyone filed out.


	5. Chapter 5

Gasps were heard around the meeting hall as Kane told everyone the truth about what is to come.

"Now, I know this is scary and I won't lie, it may very well be the thing to finally take us down. But we have a plan. We are going to do everything we can to survive; we are going to fight as hard as we can to claim our spot on earth. " Kane exclaimed.

"What's your plan?" A voice asked from the crowd. Thelonious stepped forward.

Kane cleared his throat. Most people were still cross towards Thelonious, as he was the one who brought ALIE to Arkadia; even though it wasn't entirely his fault, people found it hard not to blame him.

"We have a team of people going to the nearest nuclear facility to see what, if anything, can be done to contain it. If it is possible, they will do everything they can to do so. If they cannot contain it, unfortunately we will have to leave Arkadia. There are no nuclear facilities in the west and that will give us our best chance of survival until we can come up with another solution. "

"How can you come up with a solution for imploding nuclear facilities?" Thelonious asked.

"We haven't figured that out yet, as this is all still new." Kane looked to the rest of the room again. "Look, we don't have all the answers. This is just as shocking to us as it is to you. I want to live just as much as the next person, but if this is our end, we physically cannot stop it. This isn't an enemy that we can really fight, we just have to hope we know enough to try."

Most people stayed silent besides the whispers amongst themselves.

"Okay everyone, if you need me or have any questions, at all, I'll be in my office. Please do not hesitate to ask me anything." With that, Kane left the front of the room.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Raven asked Monty, as they sat on a makeshift bench in the garden.

"Yeah, I'm alright. If we can get in it'll be cool to see the hardware. Not mention we get to save the world again. Go team!"

Raven laughed at Monty's sarcasm, "Hell yeah. Sounds like a plan."

An annoyed Bellamy could be heard over Raven's shoulder as he followed Clarke toward the camp exit.

"Are you going to talk to Octavia?" he nearly shouted at Clarke.

"Bellamy, lower your voice, people are already upset. And as a matter of fact, I am. If you want to join me, that's up to you."

Bellamy rolled his eyes and followed her out the gate.

"I don't understand why you needed to suggest that Octavia go with us. She is unstable, she's looking to fight anything in sight and now you give her an actual opportunity for that to happen?"

Clarke stopped abruptly. "You're right, Octavia isn't okay. But if we just leave her here with no one to check up on her, who's to know what will happen. She could be gone for days and no one would notice. At least if she's with us, she'll be doing what she does best, she can get her mind off of Lincoln and we can keep an eye on her."

Bellamy stood silent, defeated. He knew Clarke was right, but he couldn't bring himself to say it just yet.

He cleared his throat, "After you."

Clarke continued to walk towards the drop ship, knowing she had won this battle.

Later that night Clarke and Bellamy were at their usual place in front of the drop ship. The stars were always so bright out here now that camp was full of lights.

"Do miss anything about the Ark?" Clarke asked.

"Well, seeing as it's on the ground now, not really." Bellamy chuckled.

"I'm serious, like living in space, our general way of life." Clarke pressed.

Bellamy rolled onto his side, propping his head up to look at Clarke. " I know what I don't miss. I don't miss being janitor, that's for starters. I don't miss my sister basically being imprisoned her whole life, first under the floor and then in actual prison. I don't miss rations. I don't miss people being floated." He paused. "I do miss the time I spent with my mom on the Ark. I don't think I ever cried more in my life when she was floated. I miss certain times, memories, but I don't miss being in space. We may have had it enormously difficult here, more difficult than it ever was on the Ark, but we have freedom here. We have the ability to choose. We have grass and fresh air and room to run a million miles if we wanted to. And I wouldn't trade that, not even for a single day on the Ark. More memories can be made. "

Clarke propped herself up equally to Bellamy. "Who knew Bellamy Blake had emotions."

Bellamy pushed Clarke so that her elbow fell from under her making her topple over.

"I have zero emotion." He laughed.

Clarke was actually laughing as she straightened herself up, propping herself up once more.

"It's nice to see you laugh. I don't know if I ever have now that I think of it." Bellamy noticed.

"There hasn't been much to laugh about since we got here." Clarke admitted.

"That's true, except for this." And Bellamy knocked Clarke over once more and he laughed even harder this time. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Clarke was laughing too, but she had an evil look in her eyes like she was going to get Bellamy back.

"Don't you realize who you're messing with?" Clarke asked, laughing in between her words. More swiftly that Bellamy could predict, Clarke pushed his arm from under him sending his head to the ground, smacking on the dirt.

Clarke immediately cupped her mouth in shock, not realizing he would get hurt. She instantly sat up and grabbed his head as he laughed and winced at the same time.

"I didn't realize you were that mad." He said, looking up at her.

"Sorry." She said trying to hold in her laugh. "I guess Wanheda came out." She sat above him holding his head with one hand making sure he had no injury with the other.

"Okay, Bell. It seems that you'll live." She let go of his head gently and he caught her hand before she could pull away.

"You're…. I mean is there anything you miss about space?" he asked, letting go of her hand and what he really wanted to say.

Clarke lied back down and they continue to talk and look at the stars and wonder how much time they had left to do any of this at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days later Bellamy, Clarke and the rest of the ten were lined up at the front gate waiting for Marcus to send them off. The rover was packed with ammo, medical supplies, oxygen tanks and Raven's equipment. Thankfully, she got the second one running just in time. Amongst the ten was the ever-eager Indra, three people of TriKru, Numi, Gerald, and Hedra, Monty, Raven and Wick, and Octavia.

Marcus exited the Ark at exactly eight o'clock, Abby was directly to his left.

"Alright everyone, this is it. As Raven has calculated, it will probably take you close to four days to get there. Along the way, as we know you'll be crossing through not only Ice Nation Territory but through unchartered land. We have no idea what's beyond that. Use your ammo wisely. Eat sparingly. When it comes to Ice Nation, let Indra do all of the talking and I mean it. I really don't want you guys to have an issue with them. If there is a conflict, do whatever you can to not cause any fatalities on either side. Is that clear?" Marcus asked.

Yeses were heard from the group.

"Good. Last thing, Raven and Monty were able to make four radios with a long-range signal. You all will have three and I will have one. I want updates at the beginning and end of each day and if anything happens where anyone is in danger, if someone gets hurt, I want to know about it. That is an absolute order."

More nods were seen from the group.

"Great. Let's get you guys on the road then, you're gonna need all the time you can get."

Abby went to Clarke and hugged her tightly. "Be safe, sweetheart. Here's my extra coat, in case it's colder up there."

"Thanks, mom." Clarke said, hugging Abby back.

Jasper said bye to Monty, handing him a little bundle of something that Monty very quickly stuffed into his pocket.

Marcus shook his head, instantly knowing what they were up to. The camp waved good-bye, wishing them luck, as the two rovers and Octavia's horse took off. After all, the fate of everyone in Arkadia was now in there hands.

Riding in the rover was a hell of a bumpy ride, but it was definitely better than walking and lugging all of their supplies nearly two hundred miles. They had just passed Polis when Clarke asked if they could stop to stretch.

She did want to stretch but she couldn't admit how terribly motion sick she was. The second the ground was under her feet, she felt a little off balance and nearly fell over if Rume hadn't caught her at the last moment.

"Are you alright?" she asked, bringing Clarke to sit on the edge of the rover.

"Yeah, I'm just a little dizzy." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the total truth.

Clarke continued to take deep, slow breaths until her dizziness passed, and slowly her nausea began to subside. She stood and headed over the edge of the hill. She could see the tower of Polis looming over the congested city. The cool early autumn breeze lifted her hair off of her clammy neck, as if it knew to sooth her.

"Don't want the team to know you have motion sickness?" Bellamy asked, standing behind her.

Clarke rolled her eyes, of course he knew. "I don't need them thinking I'm more important than anyone else on this trip. Have you seen how the three TriKru soldiers look at me? I'm Wanheda to them."

"Clarke-"

"I just want to stay under the radar as much as possible." Clarke said.

Bellamy knew there wasn't much he could say to Clarke right now. "Okay, then I guess you better get your motion sickness under control. We wouldn't want Wanheda throwing up everywhere." He smirked.

She looked at him with a thin smile stretched across her lips, "You are so annoying sometimes, Bell."

"I know." He chucked, "But seriously let me know if you have to vomit and I'll try to stop the rover in time."

Clarke mustered up the strength to try to chase him across the field, but his long legs were not match for her.

For the next hour they sat, ate, updated Kane, and headed back on the road. Clarke held the wildflowers that Bell had found in her lap as the rover hit bump after bump. She plucked petal after petal, realizing that the beautiful distraction had kept her motion sickness at bay.


	7. Chapter 7

By the early evening they were deep into the forest. The tree canopy was so dense that the light from the setting sun barely made it's way through. Thankfully, the remnants of the roads that used to pass through there hadn't allowed trees to grow through the narrow path.

Indra tapped on Bellamy's shoulder, "I think we should camp here for the night. I don't want to go through Ice Nation at night with these things. They tend to ask questions after inflicting pain on trespassers."

"I'm sure no one's gonna have a problem with that." Bellamy slowed down the rover, and soon both vehicles came to stop along with Octavia. He spoke over the radio letting the travelers behind him know that they'd be stopping for the evening for fear of impending pain.

"So what's for dinner?" Wick asked, brightly.

Bellamy threw at sack at his chest, "Rations." The bag contained a small sandwich and one whole carrot.

"Can't wait." said Wick as he sat down in front of the fire.

"It's just for the trip." Raven said attempting to comfort him.

Clarke sat alone nibbling on the edge of bread. Her stomach was still not doing well and she was dreading the idea of vomiting.

"Mind if I join you, princess?" asked Bellamy.

"Not at all." She said, smiling at him.

"Hey guys!" Monty dropped to the ground with Bellamy.

"Hey Monty! How's rover number two?" Bellamy asked.

"It's running pretty great for getting it ready in two days!" he said, obviously proud of his work.

"And Rume?" Clarke asked. While Indra, Gerald and Hedra rode with Clarke and Bellamy, Rume was with Raven, Wick and Monty

"Oh, she's great! Pretty chatty actually, she has some good stories. I don't think I've spoken to grounder for more than a minute at a time before today so it was cool to get a better perspective."

"Great. Perspective is definitely a good thing to have." Bellamy said.

"How was Jasper before we left?" Clarke asked.

"Um, he was okay. Not drinking too much anymore which is really good. He's been talking with Mr. O'Brien a lot, actually. He was head of the psych department so he's been helping him sort through things."

Clarke was a little surprised, not because Jasper was getting help but because they even had a psychiatrist. There was a spark in Clarke's mind that even though the things that she had done surpass Jasper's kill list ten fold, that maybe it could help her too.

"That's great. I'm glad he's getting better." Clarke said quietly.

It was well past dusk and the fire was still burning pretty high when the sky growled a low and threatening rumble.

"We should get these tents up. Looks like there's gonna be a storm."

The ten proceeded to put up three tents. They were evenly divided minus TriKru who didn't mind four to a tent. Bellamy and Clarke were setting up the tent they'd be sharing with Octavia while she put together a temporary, but sturdy shelter for her horse. It consisted of a large tarp that was amongst the supplies and wire that was fastened to four trees. Once she was done with that, she tied off her horse, which she had named Abraham and did the same thing over the fire so it would stay on despite the rain.

The first few drops started to pelt their tents just as they finished the tying off the last rope. Clarke set up her sleeping bag in between Bellamy and Octavia because she knew Octavia still needed distance from him and he needed to give it to her.

"Good job with the tarp, O." Bellamy said.

"Whatever. I just didn't want some hungry animal getting to close to Abraham and they'd be warded off by the fire."

"Oh, right. Good thinking."

Clarke shot him a look. Even though he was discouraged, at least she was responsive.

"Alright, are we all set to turn this lantern off?" Clarke asked.

"Go for it." Bellamy said as he zipped his sleeping bag up.

The darkness was a little shocking from having stared at the bright light so closely but after a few moment Clarke's eyes adjusted and she settled into her sleeping bag letting the hard patting of the rain take her under.

Clarke awoke not even a few hours later. Lightening lit the sky and the thunder crashed so loudly and so close that it shook the ground underneath them. As shocking at it was, she was thankful that it woke her because she was having a dream about Lexa and Mount Weather and somehow they were intertwined in her subconscious and she didn't want to see it anymore.

She laid awake for a while before Bellamy said anything.

"Bad dream or did the thunder get you?" he whispered.

She glanced over to Octavia who was still sleeping soundly.

"Both." She admitted.

"Same here." Bellamy said. "It happens less and less frequently but it still sucks."

The thunder continued to drum deeply overhead, strikes of lightening splitting the sky.

"Sometimes I just see faces. Other times I see so much it makes me want to tear my guts out." The pain in Clarke's voice could wilt a field of flowers.

Bellamy placed his hand on hers, and unexpectedly Clarke interlaced her fingers with his.

"We'll be okay. We just need time."

"Too bad that's what were lacking."

He couldn't help but chuckle softly, immediately checking Octavia, but she was still quietly sleeping.

"I'm glad we're okay again, Bell. I'm glad we can just… be. Without the other people trying to understand, trying to fix us, trying to help us. This is just easy." Clarke said.

Bellamy shifted slightly, unsure of what Clarke was saying, but he squeezed her hand a little tighter and asked, "What is this?"

Just then lightening hit once more and the thunder crashed so loud it was as if it were just feet away.

"We should get back to sleep, I guess. Early start tomorrow, after all."

Clarke didn't let go of Bellamy's hand after she closed her eyes and Bellamy didn't dare ask the question she missed, again, but he closed his eyes, feeling her fingers intertwined with his.


	8. Chapter 8

Early morning light filtered into the tent exposing the invisible particles floating in the air. Bellamy and Clarke's hands were still slightly intertwined, their fingers lazily draped over one another.

Octavia entered the tent brusquely and nudged at their feet, "Hey love birds, its breakfast time."

Clarke woke abruptly, sitting up immediately, "What time is it?" she inquired.

"Half past seven."

Raven had them on a strict schedule so they could reach each of their checkpoints by sundown.

"Alright, we'll be out in a minute."

"Yeah, whatever." With that Octavia left the tent.

Chatter could be heard from outside. It seemed like everyone else was already up.

"Bell, get up. We gotta go." Clarke nudged Bellamy softly. "Bellamy, get up!"

Bellamy sat up aggressively and before Clarke knew it she was on her back and he was above her holding a knife to her throat.

His eyes were still closed. Clarke realized he was in some sort of sleep walking trance. She had no experience on how to deal with a sleepwalker or what to do in this situation. He just continued to crouch above her, hovering the knife ever so closely to her neck.

"Octavia." Clarke called, just above a whisper. "Octavia!" she called a little louder this time and thankfully heard Octavia's annoyed foot falls.

She ripped open the tent, "What?!- Ew. Why are you calling me?" She was about to leave, obviously assuming that Bellamy was some how suggestively mounting Clarke, at least that's how it seemed from her angle.

"No, Octavia! Wait! He's asleep! I don't know what to do." Clarke said.

Octavia entered the tent and sat down next to Clarke and saw the knife on her throat.

"Oh shit. Um. Okay. Maybe if you try talking to him directly?" she suggested.

"Okay." Clarke looked directly at Bellamy. "Bellamy, it's Clarke. Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

"Let me try." Octavia said. "Bell, can you hear me?" There was such a subtle twitch in his face that they barely caught it, but it almost seemed like he did hear her.

Octavia placed her hand on Bellamy's shoulder as though trying to comfort him.

"You're alright. You can go back to sleep, Bell. Everything is okay." Octavia continued. Little by little Bellamy's rigidness softened. "You can lay back down, Bell." She guided him back to the floor until his head was on his sleeping bag. Clarke slid from away to give Octavia room to get him back down.

"You're okay, Bell. You're okay." She held his hand tightly and waited a few moments before asking, "Bellamy, can you hear me?"

Bellamy's eyes fluttered open in the most normal way possible, clearly having no recollection of what just occurred. "O-" he began.

She instantly stood up to leave, "He's all yours." She said to Clarke and immediately left the tent.

"Hey." Clarke said a little unsure of how to explain what just happened.

"So how did your mom stop you from sleepwalking?" Clarke asked as they drove through a less dense area of the forest.

"Well, first she tied my arm to my bed, but that didn't work. So eventually she just started staying awake until I started sleepwalking and she would talk me back to bed." Clarke gave him a face that meant she needed more of an explanation. "She would grab my shoulders and talk to me as if I were awake and somehow it worked. I could never remember the sleepwalking or the dream that I might have been having, maybe only fragments of it, but I'd always wake up feeling really calm." He explained.

"So that's how Octavia knew what to do."

Bellamy simply nodded.

"We're here." Indra interjected.

Everyone's attention averted to the entrance of a village. It looked positively prehistoric. The surrounding fence was made up of a mixture of bones and tree trunks.

"Well that certainly looks inviting." Clarke said.

"They aren't known for their hospitality." Indra said. "We'll get out here. They wont want us getting any closer."

Everyone exited the rovers and Octavia tied off her horse. They walked as a group to the gate that was seemingly unguarded.

"Where is everyone?" Bellamy asked.

"Everywhere." Indra whispered. She turned in a circle, looking from the trees to the ground and spoke in the language of the grounders. "We mean no harm. I am Indra of TriKru. We are on a mission that is of grave importance. I demand to speak to your leader, as we need passage through the mountain."

There was movement from the corner of her eye and then she immediately entered a hostile pose along with Rumi, Gerald and Hedra.

The bark of a tree closest to them disappeared and from it emerged a face under a cloak. And then other parts of the forest around them moved and shifted out of place, turning into back into people.

The bark man walked up to Indra. "Indra of Trikru. Your name is known around the Ice Nation as a fierce and loyal warrior. I am Aja." He embraced Indra with the customary handshake before continuing. "You may speak to our leader but it must be you alone."

Indra looked to her soldiers and then to Clarke and nodded. "Lead the way." She said, and the gates opened and closed behind them swiftly.

Hours passed before they saw Indra again.

The gate opened slowly, letting her pass through, only to immediately close behind her.

Raven stepped forward first. "So what's the verdict?"

"They are letting us pass." There was a collective sigh of relief that lasted only seconds. "There is a condition though."

"What is it?" Bellamy asked.

"The leader wants to meet Wanheda."


	9. Chapter 9

All eyes were on Clarke. Her heartbeat sped up to twice the normal rate and she already felt her palms begin to sweat.

"What does he want with her?" Bellamy pressed.

" _She_ wants to meet the bringer of death. It seems that there is no foul play involved. She simply said she wanted to meet the girl who took down the mountain men."

"It seems?" Monty asked. "We need to make sure it's safe. We need Clarke. She's our only doctor."

"I know. I told her that if she wants to meet Wanheda that we would all need to go. So she invited us all to dine with her for the evening." Indra said.

"Should we ask Kane and make sure this is the right choice? I can reroute the trip but it'll take a few more days." Raven chimed in.

"No, he'll say no and we don't have any time to waste. It's fine. I'll meet this leader and the sooner we can be on our way the better." Clarke said, with finality.

"Well, I guess that's that then. Bring on the chowder." said Wick.

Raven backhanded him on the arm and he immediately dropped his smile.

The village was pretty much what they all expected it to be. There were tiny huts built closely together in rows. There was one dwelling that was larger than the rest and it was at the end of the main corridor of huts. The guards led the ten into the larger hut and there was a long wooden table that was close to the ground and there were piles of animal pelt that were meant for sitting on.

"Our leader, Serena of Ice Nation requests that you sit here while you wait. She will be out soon." The man gestured towards the table and left just as soon as everyone sat down.

Moments later, men and women who were clearly revered as a lower class than the guards entered the room and began placing food in front of the ten. Rabbit, vegetables, deer, and even some ambiguous fruit they couldn't make out.

"I guess this is how the Ice Nation eats." Wick said.

"There is more opportunity to hunt here. There are less people to scare off game. With Polis and SkiKru in such a close vicinity, animals have traveled farther up the mountains." said Gerald.

That may have been the first time most of the table heard Gerald speak.

"That makes sense." Monty said. "Our scent is probably more foreign than yours and once it gets picked up by the wind it'll stay in the area for a long time, unless we move."

Gerald was going to respond but then the same man that had escorted them in re-entered the room. "The leader of the eastern village, Serena of Ice Nation."

Indra and the rest of Trikru stood so the members of SkiKru did the same. A woman no more that a few years older than Bellamy came in. Her face was free of the white paint that the rest of the Ice Nation people had. Her hair was long and black like a raven and her eyes were nearly the same color. She was tall, and she wore similar pelts to those that the ten were sitting on except it was just as black as her hair.

"Thank you for joining me this evening. It is an honor to have your presence here. Trikru, a fierce and competent match for the Ice Nation and Skikru, our new comrades from far far away. Please, be seated."

Everyone sat in unison and Serena stared in the direction of Clarke, only two seats away, Indra in between them. Bellamy, who sat on the opposite side of Clarke felt weary about the dinner but knew Clarke was right; it had to be done so they could get to their destination without a moment to spare.

Indra was the first to speak. "I want to formally introduce you to Wanheda, although her giver name is Clarke Griffin of SkiKru."

Serena's eyes lit up, it was almost as if she were slightly star struck. "Wanheda, it is an honor to meet you. Do you prefer Wanheda or Clarke?"

Clarke shifted uncomfortably. She would never prefer Wanheda. She didn't want to be known as the bringer of death. She didn't want to be known as the girl who stopped the mountain men. She didn't want to be known as a killer, and here they were, dining with a woman who praised her long, long kill list.

"Clarke is good." She said, quietly.

The meal went surprisingly smoothly, but that didn't stop Octavia from keeping one hand on her sword the entire time or Bellamy's hand from twitching to his knife whenever there was a loud noise. These days they couldn't trust anything or anyone around them.

"I hope you are all full and satisfied. Please, take lodging in our quarters for the night and then you can leave at first light."

"We have tents." Clarke began.

"I insist. Please take shelter with us. There will be another storm tonight, and I wouldn't want the woman who saved us all to be struck by lightening." Serena laughed slightly.

Clarke looked around to the rest of the group and there didn't seem to be any weary faces. "Alright, we'll stay for the night then."

"Great. Casis, can you please show our guests to their sleeping quarters for the night." The same man that escorted them into the hut and introduced Serena appeared.

"Follow me, please." He said.

They barely left the larger hut to be escorted to another just feet from where they were. "You all should fit comfortably in here. I have prepared the area and there are basins of water to wash with in the morning. Have a good night." With that, he left without another word, shutting the door behind him.

"So much for them not being hospitable. I feel like a knight, or a jester, or something important." Wick said.

Raven laughed quietly, smacking him on the arm again. Sometimes his comedic timing was just too perfect.

"It is a little strange, I'll admit." Indra said. "They normally kick you out after they're through with you, or kill you. Serena must really like Clarke, or we'd be in our tents tonight."

"Well, let's take advantage of a warm, rock-less bed. We'll have plenty of time for tents during the rest of the trip." Raven said.

Their beds were made of more animal pelts and makeshift pillows stuffed with feathers. "Do you think they would notice if I took a pillow?" Monty asked.

"The punishment for stealing in Ice Nation is cutting off the thief's hands. I wouldn't suggest it." Indra said with her eyes closed.

Monty laid back, his mouth turned into a frown.

Bellamy and Clarke were quietly chatting as the rest of the group began to doze off. "How do you feel about this? Indra said they aren't usually this nice. Maybe something is off. Maybe they wanted us to stay for a reason."

"I don't know. Serena seemed really intrigued and excited to meet me. Maybe she is just really impressed and wanted to be hospitable. Although, it makes me feel a little sick to my stomach that someone likes me because I killed people I didn't even want to kill."

"She sort of reminds of the other Ice Nation people we've met. Ruthless, all blood lust and anger. Maybe she's just a more civilized version of that."

"Yeah, maybe. I think we're safe. Let's just go sleep to before our minds get the best of us."

Bellamy nodded, and turned onto his side, although he still had an uneasy feeling in his stomach that something was off.


	10. Chapter 10

Clarke awoke to the pitch-blackness of the hut and there was a searing pain on the side of neck, like someone had just put a burning ember under her skin. "Bell! Bellamy!" she cried out, the pain getting worse by the second.

He woke up, as did the rest of the ten. "What? What happened?" he nearly yelled.

"The lantern, get the lantern!" Clarke was practically crying at this point

The lantern went on suddenly and there was a large deep red blotch on Clarke's neck and when Bellamy looked closer there were two small holes about an inch apart from each other.

"What the hell? Was it a snake? A spider?"

"No." Indra said, "I've seen this before."

Hedra crouched next to Clarke and surveyed the wound. "It looks like Mountain Beetle poison."

Clarke began cry out, the pain was unbearable at this point. "The poison has a toxin in it that makes it feel like lava is being poured into your veins. Right now, she's probably feeling like she's on fire from the inside out." said Hedra.

"How do you know this?!" Bellamy was holding onto his gun, ready for whoever might come in because of the sound of Clarke's screaming.

"I'm a healer in my village." Hedra said.

"Can you help her?"

"I can try. We have to get out of here though. There is a plant I need to find."

"Not before we get answers." said Indra.

Clarke started to writhe uncontrollably, incoherent noises coming from her mouth. Hedra turned her onto her side and she continued to shake.

"Is there a time frame?" Raven asked.

"She probably has until dawn."

Everyone was silent for a moment. That was so soon. How would they find a plant in the dark? How would they get out of here alive when someone wanted Clarke dead?

Clarke stopped moving, but continued to breathe rapidly, wheezing. She shifted her head up slightly, catching Bellamy's attention. He dropped to the ground and put his face close to hers.

"Go." The word barely escaped her lips.

He sat back, anger rising into his face. "Damnit, Clarke. You are not dying and we aren't leaving you, not after everything we've done to survive." His voice softened slightly, "You're not dying."

Bellamy stood quickly. "Octavia, Raven, Monty, Wick. Get a rover and the horse. Have guns ready. Take Clarke and Hedra with you. We will meet past the ridge we saw on the way in. Indra, Gerald and I are going to see who is responsible and if there's an antidote available. Try not to kill anyone, but if someone gets in your way, do what is necessary to stop them."

Everyone moved like a well-oiled machine. Wick lifted Clarke off of the ground, cradling her. Hedra led the way out of the back of the hut and the rest of the group followed.

Bellamy called to Octavia before she left, "O!"

She turned to face him.

"Take care of them all. You're in charge." He said.

She nodded and ran out.

Bellamy's group went out of the front door and headed straight for the leaders hut. He signaled them to go in through the side and back exits and he went into through the front. He entered the room they ate in only hours ago. Not much had changed except for the absence of food. He could see that Gerald had already entered though the side and they both headed towards the back, hopeful that Indra had found someone to question.

Thankfully, she did. Casis was in the back room on his knees with Indra standing over him, sword at his throat.

"Who did it?" she demanded.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I have been asleep in my quarters." He simply.

"Where is Serena?" Bellamy nearly shouted.

"She is normally here, sleeping at this time, but I am unaware of where she is right now."

"Who do you know that would have access to mountain beetle poison?"

"The only people who would have access to that are our healers and blacksmiths. They use it sometimes for weapons, to incapacitate enemies."

Indra looked at Bellamy and they knew where to go. Gerald stepped forward and hit Casis over the head, knocking him out cold. The other two looked at him.

"Just in case. We don't need him running to Serena once we leave."

They ran to the blacksmith hut and there was a candle burning low, as though it were lit not an hour ago. Bellamy knocked and waited while Indra and Gerald hid on the side of hut, anticipating the door's opening.

After a few minutes it opened to a man that clearly hadn't been sleeping. Bellamy immediately grabbed him and pushed him into the hut and Indra and Gerald followed, closing the door behind them.

"Was it you?!" Bellamy shouted, holding the man by his neck against the wall.

He could barely speak, partly because he was terrified and partly because his vocal cords were being crushed. He was not a soldier by any means, he was an older man with a white bead, that had never been to battle, but simply made the weapons for people who did.

"You have one more chance to answer or she puts her sword through you."

He began to splutter, trying to speak. Bellamy let get of his throat.

"She made me…" he forced out, coughing in the process. "She said she needed the poison and a way to make it look like it wasn't a person."

"Who?! Who made you?" Indra demanded.

"Serena-"

"Do you know where she is?" Bellamy asked.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry."

Bellamy yelled in frustration. "We're running out of time!" He stood quietly for a moment. "Get up!" he yelled at the old man. He barely rose and Bellamy was dragging him out of the house.

"What are you doing?!" Indra didn't want the uprising of a village on her hands.

Too late. Bellamy shot about ten rounds into the air, waking everyone up. Terrified people and angry soldiers began emerging from their huts.

"Listen up! Your leader hurt one of my own tonight for reasons we do not know. She is nowhere to by found, and we want answers. It seems that the only way I will get answers is if I start hurting one of hers. I'll start with him and then I'll move on to you. You can spare yourselves if you just tell me where she is. All we want is justice!"

The village people stood quietly, confusion on the faces of some, anger on the faces of others.

"You have until the count of three. 1! 2!-" Bellamy took his knife out and held it to the mans neck.

"Bellamy, stop this. We'll have a war on our hands." Indra insisted.

"It's too late. They made the first move. We didn't want this!"

"3!" Bellamy shouted and just as he was about to slit the man's throat an arrow shot his knife out of his hand and entered the mans chest, killing him.

"I'm right here." Serena came out of the darkness of the forest with a bow slung over her shoulder. "Leave these people alone."

Bellamy pointed his gun at her. "Drop the bow."

She placed the bow and the sack of arrows on the ground and walked up to Bellamy.

"It's me you want."

"Why'd you do it? We thought you were impressed with Wanheda." Indra asked.

"To be a leader, you must have as little rivals as possible, especially a rival that is feared among the tribes. I debated on killing you, but you are praised, not feared and admiration does not command the same kind of respect that fear does."

Bellamy's finger inched towards the trigger, the safety already off.

"So you wanted her dead because you didn't want the competition? Clarke wasn't competing against anyone. She just wants to be left alone." Bellamy spat.

"How am I supposed to know that? For all I know she's building an army of her own, ready to rise against the clans."

"Where is the antidote?"

"There is none. It's used for our enemies. We're not foolish enough to have an antidote." She nearly laughed and Bellamy was too ready to pull the trigger. "It's probably too late at this point, she's dead by now."

"You shouldn't have surrendered because you're dying for nothing." Gerald said.

"Blood must have blood." Indra said.

Gerald and Indra continued to say it, "Jus drein jus daun. Jus drein jus daun.

Surprisingly, the village people started to chant it as well. "Jus drein jus daun, jus drein jus daun. Jus drein jus daun. Jus drein jus daun."

Serena stood still, her stoic face unwavering, ready to accept her fate.

There was a single shot that reverberated off the mountain, echoing through the trees.

The three of them looked around, waiting to see of anyone would attack, but they didn't.

"We need to leave." Indra said. They ran through the gates that led up the mountain to reach the others. Bellamy headed the group, hoping they weren't too late.


	11. Chapter 11

The three of them ran through the darkness of the forest, branches whipping at their faces, fresh scratches stinging with the cold morning air. They reached the rover and they could already see the fire the other group had built on the ridge.

The rover could not move fast enough for Bellamy. He half wanted to run the rest of the way, thinking his legs would get him there quicker. Once they reached the fire he nearly leapt out of the rover rushing to the first face he saw, which was Octavia's.

"How is she? Is she alive? Where is she?" he asked frantically, scanning the area.

"Bell, bell! Look at me."

Bellamy's eyes found Octavia's.

"She's not doing good. Hedra is still looking for the plant. She went with Raven and Monty to search with flashlights, but she's really, really cold-" Before she could finish Bellamy walked past her and knelt on the ground next to a shivering, clammy Clarke. Her eyes were closed and the edges of her hair were sweat soaked like she had just ran ten miles.

"Clarke." Bellamy whispered.

Her eyes slowly opened, like they were straining for the ability to do so.

"Go." The world sounded the same as it did before, hoarse, weak and nearly unintelligible.

This was classic Clarke, putting the mission first, above anything, even herself. Bellamy sat back, biting down hard on his lip. His emotions were getting the best of him and if this was the last time he was going to speak to Clarke Griffin he wasn't going to be crying.

"Guys, look." Wick gestured to the valley that the ridge overlooked. There was a peak of light just slightly above the horizon. You might have missed it if you glanced, but it was there.

Bellamy remembered Rumi's words. Clarke probably had until dawn, if that. But Clarke was fighter. She was the strongest person he knew. She would be the exception. She had to be the exception.

He disregarded her request and asked her a question. "How are you feeling?"

She barely opened her mouth, but managed to say a few words. "Colder than I've ever felt."

"Hedra said the last stage was feeling like ice had replaced your blood." Octavia said.

Bellamy lied down next to Clarke, holding her against his body, covering them with another sheet. It was the only thing he could think of. He needed to do something. He lied like that for a while with her, stroking her back firmly, creating heat against her clothing. The sun slowly continued to rise over the valley and the colors of dawn streaked the sky with pinks, oranges and red, mixing with the blue hues of the day.

After what felt like impossibly too long, fast footfalls were heard from the forest and Raven, Monty, and Hedra emerged from the trees.

"Oh my god, finally! Did you get it?" Octavia asked.

"Yes! We got it." Hedra ran over to Clarke, checking her pulse. "Her pulse is weak, but she still has one."

She unslung her bag and pulled out a bowl and a crusher of some sort and began mixing and crushing a variety of plants and herbs including the one they had just searched for.

Bellamy was still lying with Clarke when it felt as though she had stopped breathing. He checked her pulse, and there was nothing.

"Hedra! She stopped breathing! She's not breathing." Bellamy immediately started CPR.

Monty rushed over to help. "She taught me how, I can help!"

"Alright, on my count blow air into her mouth." Bellamy ordered.

"Hedra, we need this now! Is it ready!?" Raven shouted.

"I'm almost there!" She ran over to Clarke, pouring nearly boiling water into the bowl of crushed up plants and continued to mix until it turned into a thick paste. "This is going to draw out the poison." She said.

Bellamy continued to do chest compressions. He looked down at her seemingly lifeless body and tears started to well up in his eyes. " _No, no, no, no."_ he thought.

Hedra applied the entire amount of paste she had made onto the wound on Clarke's neck and grabbed a stick from the fire and brought it over the paste.

"What are doing?!" Bellamy yelled.

"It's okay, Bellamy. Trust me."

Bellamy gave her a look and she touched the paste with the flame and it began to bubble up and sizzle like it was meat on a pan. After a few moments, a black, thick substance began to drain from under the paste.

"Towel!" Hedra yelled.

Indra handed her the towel and she placed it on Clarkes shoulder, catching all of the black ooze and suddenly, Clarke gasped for air and began breathing rapidly.

Bellamy sat backwards, finally stopping CPR and Monty nearly collapsed onto the ground after breathing for Clarke for so long. By the end of the draining nearly five towels were used to clean up the copious amounts of black liquid.

Clarke began to breathe slower and slower until it was finally a normal, steady rate.

"She's gonna make it." said Hedra.

Sighs of relief were heard through out the ten, except from Bellamy. He wiped the remnants of his tears and stood up. "Alright everyone, we leave in three hours. Get as much rest as you can."

"What? We can't just leave so soon. Clarke needs to rest." hedra said.

"She can rest in the rover." Bellamy stated.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right. We have no time. And either way, she'd be pissed if we didn't get going. I know I don't want to deal with that when she wakes up."

Even with Hedra's discontent it was settled, they were leaving.

Bellamy walked into the dim forest and kept walking until he could no longer see the fire or the dark silhouettes of the people who stood around it. He cried then. He cried all the tears that wanted to escape when Clarke told him to go. He crouched, close to the forest floor, his sobs shaking his bones. He had only cried like this once before.

It seemed as though his feelings for Clarke were fiercer and deeper than he thought. He loved Clarke, incomprehensibly.


	12. Chapter 12

There were faint words located somewhere in the distance as Clarke Griffin slowly started to regain consciousness. Her body was being jostled about as she sat up right in what came to her as the rover. The voices she heard had belonged to Bellamy, Indra and Hedra who were quietly chatting.

"I think that when you added your own body heat to hers, it slowed down the process. If I'm right you could have saved her life just as much as my paste did-" Hedra said.

"No, no. I'm sure it was your plants. I'm not gonna take credit for that. It was you." Bellamy interjected, stubborn as always.

Light began to peer through Clarke's eyelids and she found her voice. "Of course. Bellamy Blake could never believe he could be a hero." She said, sarcastically.

Bellamy slammed on the breaks and looked over to Clarke whose eyes finally opened.

"You're awake." He said, hesistantly.

"Yeah, and you're a crappy driver." Clarke said, rubbing her knee that just slammed into the dash.

"Sorry, you just surprised me."

"How long have I been out?" Clarke asked.

"Nearly two days." Hedra said. "We were getting a little worried."

Clarke's eyes shifted back to Bellamy and there was clear relief in his face.

Raven appeared at the driver's side window, "What's up? Why'd you stop-?" her eyes averted to Clarke. "Clarke! You're awake!"

"Raven, hey!" Clarke attempted to act normal. "Where are we?" she asked.

"We are just about to hit our last ridge. We should be at the plant by mid-day tomorrow." Raven said, excitedly.

"Great, let's get a move on then!" Clarke said enthusiastically.

Raven ran back to rover and it immediately started moving in front of them again.

Clarke sat back in her chair trying to remember what happened before, but she just couldn't seem to right away. The most she remembered was a faint memory of pain, a lot of pain.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You don't remember anything?" Bellamy inquired.

"The last thing I remember was falling asleep in the hut at the Ice Nation Village and then there are flashes of moments." She closed her eyes trying to grasp them. "I was in a lot of pain. I remember hearing gunshots, but faraway, glimpses of dark trees. And then a second of your face." She looked at Bellamy. "You were talking to me, telling me something. I was really cold and then that's it. Until now."

Bellamy, Hedra and Indra took turns explaining everything that happened after she fell of asleep in the Ice Nation hut.

"I can't believe that bitch!" Clarke exclaimed when she heard about Serena's betrayal.

"The village people must have had great respect for you for them to turn against their leader." Indra stated.

"On the way back we'll have to stop through so I can thank them."

"You want to go back there?" Hedra asked, shocked.

"The woman who tried to kill me is dead. I have no problems with the people who wanted justice for that." Clarke said.

They continued to explain up until Hedra applied the life saving paste to Clarke's neck. Clarke reached for her throat to feel the two bumps, still swollen under her bandage.

"What I was telling Bellamy earlier was that when he lied next to you to transfer heat, it must have bought you some time because it was nearly too late when I got there."

Bellamy's eyes shifted, avoiding making contact with Clarke's gaze. She remembered something: Bellamy lying beside her. He had cocooned her in a sheet as he held her tightly and there was a fleeting memory of him whispering to her as she lay still beside him. He kept repeating two words, over and over again, "Don't die, don't die, don't die, don't die."

Clarke reached over and squeezed Bellamy's hand, it was only for a moment but he could sense the gratitude.

The sun began to fade along the top of the forest, blanketing the trail in a dark shade.

"We should stop here for the night." Rumi said. "There's another Ice Nation village just past the tree line."

Soon they were all back to their tents and the sound of the fire crackling echoed off of the canopy of trees above them. Gerald caught a few rabbits and Indra was sitting beside him and Rumi, turning them over the flame.

"I am so ready for some real food!" Wick said, excitedly. Raven chuckled, knocking her knee into his.

Monty, Octavia and Bellamy were talking with Hedra about the different types of plants that have healing properties when Bellamy realized Clarke was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll be right back, guys." He interrupted.

Hedra simply nodded and continued talking to Octavia and Monty.

Bellamy lifted the door of the tent to find Clarke laying in her sleeping bag, seemingly asleep, a lantern dimly lit in the corner. He went to turn it off when she spoke.

"Can you leave it on for now?" she asked. "It's kinda of comforting while I'm in here alone."

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were asleep."

"No, just resting. I still feel really weak."

"Well, you didn't eat the two days you were out. I can bring you some food once it's ready."

"That would be great." Clarke smiled slightly.

"Can I actually talk to you while I'm here?" Bellamy asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah, of course."

Bellamy sat beside her on his own sleeping bag, looking down at first, not sure where to start.

"Um. When I thought- when you were dying- when I thought you were dying, that was probably the most terrifying moment of my life besides my mother actually dying." He paused. "I thought about it for a while and I realized the reason I was so terrified of- of losing you was because you are the closest thing I have ever had to a friend. It's been you and me since we got here, whether we hated each other or worked together, it's been you and me, together at the front line. And the thought of that being taken away, the thought of you being taken away was so goddamn terrifying."

Clarke sat up becoming eye level with Bellamy. Her eyes bore deep into the brown of Bellamy's. She grabbed his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. He just sat there, watching her movements, allowing her to do what she needed.

"I'm not going anywhere," she finally said. "Clearly, we need each other and if we only have six months left, it would have really sucked to go out because of some beetle venom"

Bellamy smiled, dropping his head slightly. He wanted kiss Clarke at that moment, to make sure she was real. He reached for her hair, pushing it back past her ears, little bits of earth and pine attached to her knotted blonde waves.

She grabbed onto his hand, holding it to her face, feeling its warmth and callousness against her cool cheek. This was the most intimate her and Bellamy had ever been, and in the past she would have reacted differently, but at this moment she only wanted what this was to continue.

Bellamy finally closed the space between them and pressed his lips against hers. He left his hand on her cheek as she reciprocated the kiss. It lasted only seconds before they pulled away, but it was clear they both wanted the kiss, if not needed it.

He rested his forehead on hers, only wanted to continue kissing Clarke but knowing that it wasn't the right place or time. He let out of a sigh and she laughed at his clear frustration.

"The food is ready, guys!" Raven called.

They both laughed, as that was a clear indication as to why they could not continue. Bellamy kissed her once, twice, three times more and then finally got up to get their food.


	13. Chapter 13

The static of Raven's radio buzzed through out the campsite. The rest of the ten were rolling their sleeping bags and un-doing their tents. Today was the day they would finally reach the plant; today was the day they would found out if they were able to save everyone.

Bellamy and Clarke were rolling their sleeping bags simultaneously, looking at each other and then looking away, smiling. They weren't entirely sure what to do about this blossoming, "thing," as they put it. Telling people, at least right now, would be a little weird with everyone being in such close quarters. They weren't sure if it was worth telling people at all, not knowing what they would find in an hours time. But they were sure that they liked how it felt and they wanted to hold onto the feeling for as long as they could.

Everyone finished gathering their belongings and Raven wrapped up her morning call with Marcus and Abby.

"Clarke." Raven called. "Your mom says to drink as much water as you can to make sure the poison is completely flushed out. She said if it lies dormant it could re-spread.

Clarke nodded.

"Alright, if everyone can gather around I want to chat about a few things before we head out." Raven gestured to their makeshift sitting area. "Okay, Indra and Gerald are going to lead us into to next Ice Nation village. Indra said it should be better than the last one since they are new and still growing. From there we have about twenty- five miles until the plant. At twenty is when we'll put on our suits. Octavia, I suggest leaving your horse here and hop into a rover, it'll be better for him since we obviously don't have a horse suit." There were giggles around the group and Octavia nodded.

"You'll know we're almost there when you can spot the massive cooling towers. They'll look sort of like a cement flower vase, only about a hundred feet tall and as wide as the ark. Once we get there, Monty, Kyle and I will be the first ones to get out. TriKru will stay in the rovers, they're only here for protection so the less exposure for anyone the better, and if anyone comes at us, I doubt it, but you guys will have a good enough view just in case. Octavia that goes for you to."

"Once we make sure it's good to go, Bellamy and Clarke will come in with us in case of any heaving lifting or other issues."

"So what exactly is your plan if you get inside?" asked Gerald.

"Well, if all goes well up until that point, I'm hoping there will be a way to neutralize the plant. I'm sure there must have been some way to do it in the past in case of an emergency."

"How would you neutralize a nuclear plant?" asked Monty.

"I'm hoping there's someway to stop the radiation from leaking. If that doesn't work, I'm hoping there's a self-destruct button. And if there's no self-destruct button, I brought some very carefully contained extra hydrazine."

"What? You want to blow it up?" Bellamy exclaimed. "Wont that just make the radiation spread more?"

"Technically yeah, but it would stop it for good. It would take about fifty to hundred years for it to be completely gone but at least we would survive. Let's just hope there's a way to contain it so it doesn't come to that."

"Any other questions?" she asked.

Everyone shook their heads. "Alright, let's get a move on."

The trip to the village was short. They arrived an hour after their meeting and Indra was walking to the main gate.

"I am Indra of TriKru and we seek passage through your village into the valley."

The gate opened and Indra was met with a young man, no more than twenty-five years old. He was tall, well past six feet. He had cold, blue eyes and dark hair that contrasted his nearly reflective skin.

"Indra, of Tri-Kru, I am Skye, leader of the north-eastern village of Ice Nation. Your name is well known around Ice Nation."

"We are on an important mission. I am with more TriKru and SkiKru. There is a source of terrible danger coming from the north. SkiKru has the means to stop it and we need safe passage through the valley. We will grant us entry?"

"Of course. Please, tell them it is safe here. We mean no harm. We are so far removed from our southern brothers and sisters because we don't agree with their methods. I have actually been very intrigued about SkiKru after hearing of their arrival."

Indra nodded, slightly surprised, and gestured for the group to head through the gate.

The ten hesitantly drove through the small village. The amount of people could not compare to the size of the last Ice Nation village they had the pleasure of staying at. One other major difference was that a lot of the people in this village had deformities, of all different kinds.

"Radiation?" Octavia asked Raven.

"Yeah."

Skye greeted everyone individually; he was unlike any grounder any of them had ever met.

"It is nearly noon and from what Indra has told me, you were planning to stop for a meal just after your passage through here. I insist that you join me so we can become better acquainted."

"No offense, but the last time we joined an Ice Nation leader for a meal, Clarke almost died and some of your people actually did." said Bellamy. "Thanks, but I think we'll fare just fine on the road."

"Indra told me what happened with our sister in the south. I am truly sorry about her treatment towards you all, but you will find no hostility here. I am really just curious about you and want to offer you a hot meal before you continue your travels. If you do choose to leave, that is also fine. No one is forcing you to stay here." Skye ended, smiling slightly.

"It's okay, Bell. I think he's pretty genuine and I know we're all tired of our bagged food." Clarke said.

The group settled into one of the three large tables where literally the entire village ate. Skye went around the table talking to everyone and hearing about their experiences in space and then on the ground. He was genuinely curious about their lives and how living in space was.

"You must be Clarke then." Skye stepped to her then, taking an empty seat beside her.

"Guilty." She said, a smirk on her face.

"So you are the one also known as Wanheda?" he inquired.

Clarke didn't respond, she looked away for a moment unsure of how to answer. The last time someone showed interest in her as Wanheda, she nearly died.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I know what Serena did. I just wanted to express my sincere gratitude. The mountain men took so much from us through out the years, my brother and uncle included." He paused. "I also want to say that I know that cannot be an easy burden to bear. You saved so many lives, but so many were still lost and that is an act that never goes without consequence or sacrifice. Many people may not know it, but it takes a piece of something from you, something you never get back."

Clarke swallowed hard, a lump her throat rising rapidly. These feelings were so unexpected she didn't know how to react.

"How did you know?" was all she could mutter without crying.

"I used to be just like Serena once. I was leader of that village before her. I was ruthless and terrible. I would kill anyone who got in front of me, and I actually began liking it. One day, we attacked a village and nearly burned it to the ground. We were scavenging when I found the body of a mother crouched over her child. She was dead so I'm not sure what made me move her, but when I did a baby was there, alive as could be. I just thought about all of the other mothers who made the same sacrifice and all of the others babies who didn't make it like that one. I grabbed the baby and fled to Polis. I knew a woman there who could take it and I abandoned my village. A few years later, I ended up here with a following large enough to create our own village.

Clarke was stunned at Skye's honesty and was unsure of how to respond. It was like he read her mind and knew exactly how she felt.

"I'm sorry, I will let you finish your meal. I know you have to leave soon."

"Wait, I just have one question."

"What's that?"

'The piece of ourselves that we lose, what is that?" Clarke asked.

"We lose a piece of our humanity; that's why we feel so empty. A piece our core, the foundation of our existence has been shattered."

"Can we ever get it back?"

"I don't know." He said.


	14. Chapter 14

Clarke was quiet as they rode through the valley. She barely said a word when they put on their suits and just continued to look out of her window as the rover jostled her about. They were passing the final ridge before the plant when Bellamy finally spoke to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just… thinking."

"I saw Skye talking to you for a while before we left. Did he say something off to you?"

"No, not at all." she said, quietly.

"There it is." said Hedra.

The massive cooling towers loomed in the distance, all four were evenly spread out and then there was one large building far off to the left with some smaller buildings in between. Soon enough the group had stopped and Raven, Monty and Wick were exiting their rover.

There was an entrance to the building farthest to left. It must have been the main area of operations. The building was no more than a few levels, it was a dark grey, and any paint that had been on it in the past was gone, only leaving the cement shell. So far it all seemed to look intact minus weather erosion, which was good news to Raven- it meant they had a chance. The door was rusted shut, but Wick made quick work of it with a larger hammer and soon it was pried off the hinges.

Raven's voice transmitted over the radio to Bellamy and Clarke, "Alright guys, let's do this."

The pair met Raven by the now gapping hole in the building.

"Okay. We have no idea what's in there so keep your eyes sharp and your flashlights out. Bellamy, you'll be our front man. Wick, you'll be in the back and try not to shoot anything that moves, even if it is a two headed rat, we don't know the state of the air, it could be combustible."

"What does that mean?" Bellamy asked.

"It means depending on what's been leaking into the air all of these years, the second a spark hits it, we could all go boom!"

"Good to know." Bellamy said, loosening the grip on his gun.

They entered the building. The windows that once existed were blown out years ago allowing for the earth to begin reclaiming it's territory. Tree roots had started degrading the concrete; vines, ivy and plants of all sorts covered the walls and a good portion of the floor. Remnants of old computers, telephones, office supplies were still somewhat visible but damaged beyond any point of repair.

"Okay, the main control room is supposed to be on the lower level." Raven said. She had the map of the building open, surveying it with a flashlight. "There's supposed to be a stairwell around the corner."

"Let's lead together, shall we?" Bellamy suggested.

They headed into the next room, immediately regretting it. Bones, bones everywhere. A least a hundred separate bodies once lied in the space.

"What the hell happened here?" Clarke exclaimed.

"I don't know." Raven spluttered. "Maybe they were workers who didn't get out in time."

"I don't think so." Bellamy said, noticed a smaller set of bones, two small to be an adult.

"Maybe they thought it would be safer here when the bombs hit." Monty said.

Clarke grabbed Bellamy's hand, squeezing it slightly.

"Let's keep moving. I want to get out of this place already," he said.

Thankfully the next door didn't require as much work to open as the first and soon they were in the pitch-black stairwell; every last flash light was attempting to illuminate the space.

"I thought space was dark." Wick said, sarcastically.

"You aren't afraid are you, Kyle?" Raven teased.

"No, but maybe a little bit claustrophobic." He admitted.

"I didn't know that." Clarke said. "How did you manage being a mechanic? Didn't you guys always have to squeeze into small spaces on the ark?"

"Most of the time I was too big so the smaller guys always got chosen before me. I lucked out that way." He said.

The stairs continued to move deeper into the earth and they weren't sure when they going to see a door. Such absolute darkness made the time feel non-existent; as if they'd been descending for hours instead of minutes.

"How's your mom, Kyle?" Clarke asked.

"I know what you're doing, Clarke. Distracting me isn't going to work." He said.

"Really? Cause you aren't hyperventilating yet."

"You won't have time to anyway. We're here." Raven said.

Bellamy grabbed the door and surprisingly it only took a few hard pulls and it opened.

The room was so large that it went far beyond what the flashlights could illuminate. There were dust coated control boards that created an oval in the middle of the room, a huge screen in the center of it.

"This is so cool." Monty said.

"Hell yeah, it is." Raven said.

"I third that." Wick said.

"I hate to break up the nerd fest, but I really want to get out of here. The longer we're here the more radiation is seeping into our suits." Bellamy snapped.

"Okay, right. We need to find the main panel. It should be around here- got it." Raven said.

"Here's the bag." Wick passed her the largest bag they had.

She pulled out a battery that was bigger than her head twice over.

"Holy shit. You built that?" Monty asked.

"Duh." Raven said.

"What's that for?" Clarke asked.

"I'm gonna try to start this bitch up."

Raven made quick work of finding the appropriate wires and attached them to her battery.

"How's that battery gonna power this whole building?" Bellamy asked.

"It's not. It's only going to power the control panel, maybe the room. There were solar panels on the roof. I'm guessing they used those to store power for emergencies. With any luck, there will be some energy stores left."

"You really thought of everything." Bellamy said."

"Wanna do the honors, Monty?" Raven asked, gestured to the switch on the battery.

"Yes!" He scooted over to the battery and pushed the switch.

For a moment there was nothing, only a click of the button and then something started to whiz and whirl and the main control panel lit up along with the screen above it.

Cheers echoed through the ancient room and Raven sprung up to begin working with board.

"Okay, there's the solar power source. Hopefully we can get more juice."

She tapped a button on the panel and there was a loud rattling noise and a blinding light illuminated the room. All of the contents of the room buzzed, whirled and came to life slowly like a sleeping bear being awoken in the spring.

"I seriously cannot believe we did it! This is too good to be true!" Raven exclaimed.

"Don't get to head of yourself, we still don't know how we're stopping the leak." Bellamy said.

"Hey, I just pumped power into a hundred year old tomb. A little credit wouldn't hurt you." Raven snapped.

"I'll give you all the credit in the world when we get the hell out of here."

Raven rolled her eyes and continued to work. She moved from screen to screen with ease searching for any information that may help their cause.

"Damn. I'm not finding anything." Raven looked down for a moment, clearly thinking. "I need to think for a sec." She walked away from the group and stood by herself.

Bellamy and Clarke began walking to the farther end of the room. It kept going for a while and wasn't as well lit.

"Do you think we could actually pull this off?" Clarke asked, turning to Bellamy.

"Raven is the smartest person I know. If anyone can pull this off, she can."

"Is it bad that I might not want it to work-"

"What the hell is that?" Bellamy exclaimed, looking at something behind Clarke.

They both looked to see what appeared to be a long ago shed snakeskin. The problem wasn't that it was there, the problem was that it was as wide as the both of them put together and half the length of the room.

"Maybe it isn't here anymore." Clarke suggested, swallowing hard.

"I really hope not."


	15. Chapter 15

"I got it." Raven said, running back to the control panel.

"What?" asked Wick.

"Okay, this is going to sound a little crazy, but I think I'm gonna try to restart the whole plant."

"Excuse me?" Monty said, baffled.

"The plant didn't have a meltdown, it just stopped being maintained so that means that the cooling towers and the reactor should still be in okay shape minus a hundred years of weather. I just have to see if the fuel rods are still intact. If I can get it to start again than the leak should stop and that could mean a reliable energy source!"

"That sounds really great, but you need to do it quick. We may not be alone." Clarke said.

"What? What are you talking about?" Monty asked.

"We just found snake skin, the radiation inspired kind." Bellamy said.

"How big?" Raven asked.

"At least thirty feet."

Raven dropped her head, "I knew this would be too good to be true."

"Monty, Wick, if you aren't helping Raven right now, get your guns and form a semi circle around her. We need all angles covered. If there is something down here, we need to be ready."

"I'm going to go as fast as I can." Raven said. She kept alternating between the screen and the panel, her hands moving in multiple directions. "Okay, I think I found what I'm looking for. It looks like three out of the four cooling towers are good and the fuel rods didn't degrade. The only thing is, where is the cooling source?"

"You need a body of water right?" Monty asked.

"Yeah." Raven affirmed.

"There was dam past the forest on map. They must have pumped the water through pipes."

"Yes, Monty! You're right. I just found it on here."

"Great-" Monty was thrown backwards then, smacking hard on the ground.

The massive owner of the skin Bellamy and Clarke found earlier had finally made its appearance and it was not amused.

"Monty! Monty! Get up!" Clarke yelled.

The radiated snake lurched forward threateningly, but did not attack. All guns were pointed at the giant but Bellamy knew they would not be enough.

"Raven, call for back up. Call right now." He said.

She moved slowly to grab the radio out of her pocket and the snake lurched once more.

"Octavia, come in. We need back up. I repeat we need back up. We are on the lower level. Staircase to the left in the next room. I repeat we need all of you. All weapons. I repeat we need back up, now."

There was a jumble of static heard from the other end.

"Goddamn it, we might be too far underground."

"Octavia, I repeat we need immediate back up. We are on the lower level. We need back up now."

"Raven, get this damn hell hole running now. We'll do what we can until they get here." Bellamy said.

The snake continued to slither side to side; it's long tongue snapping in and out of its mouth. The slits of its eyes were menacing and cold, glazed over with a white film.

"Wait a minute, I think it's blind." Clarke whispered. "It's sensing our movement. It can only hear us. It must have evolved for the darkness down here. Try not to move."

"I have to move to the next panel to hit the switch for the reactor." Raven said, regretfully.

"We'll cover you." Wick said.

"On the count of three." Bellamy said. "1- 2- 3-"

All of the movement happened in a flash. Raven shuffled to the next panel and the snake lurched in her direction. Shots were fired and thankfully the air didn't explode. Raven made it to the next panel but not before Wick jumped onto the snake and stabbed a knife into its side.

"Wick, jump!" Bellamy shouted.

"Just aim for the head!" he said. The group kept firing at the beast but was as if it were just absorbing the bullets.

"Jump now, Wick! It isn't going down!"

Before he got the chance to leap the snake thrashed once more making him fly off. A nauseating snap filled the air and Wick screamed in pain, his arm was twisted in an unnatural angle.

"Kyle!" Raven yelled, trying to run past Bellamy.

The snake lurched towards Wick, its mouth out stretched to consume him whole and then suddenly a blade sliced through it's neck, severing it's head. It flopped to the ground, still twitching.

Indra stood there, her blade soaked in a thick, black blood.

Raven ran to Wick, "Oh my god you idiot!" Tears here rolling down her face. 'I'm trying to save the planet here and you have to go do some dumb crap like that!"

He took a deep breath, "That reminds me you should probably go finish doing that."

Clarke crouched beside them. "It's okay, Raven. I got him."

Raven stood and returned to her control panels.

"Did you hear us?" Bellamy asked Indra.

"We heard something, but couldn't make it out. After talking it through we decided me and Octavia would come down to check." Indra said.

"It's a good thing we did or you guys would be snake food by now." Octavia said.

Monty walked up to Indra and hugged her, barely clearing her shoulders. "Thank you so much." Indra wasn't sure what to do so she simply patted his shoulder until he let go.

"I think it'll be best for us to stay down here until you are all done." Indra suggested.

"Good idea." Bellamy said.

"Okay. Here goes nothing." Raven said. She pressed a few more buttons and opened the cap to a large red switch and pushed it upwards.

There was a deep rumbling in the ground, it shook the room slightly.

"What is that?" Indra asked.

"Our water." Raven said, smiling. "Last step is the reactor." She pressed one more button and there was an even more resonant rumbling, somehow deeper, and louder.

Raven stepped back form the panel, cupping her hands over her mouth. "I did it. It's on, it's running."

Slowly the rest of the room buzzed to life and even lights in the stair well turned on.

Bellamy smiled, looking to Clarke, only to be met with a frown.

Raven and Monty were laughing and hugging, astounded by their accomplishment.

"Alright guys, we have to get Wick out of here." Clarke said, trying to said enthusiastic.

"Let's go!" Monty said.

"I have to set his arm before we move him." Clarke said. She walked over to Wick and crouched next to him.

"Okay, Wick, I'm going to give you a shot of morphine to take the edge off but it's still gonna hurt like a bitch, but only for a moment and then the morphine will kick in. Bell, Indra, Monty, come hold him down."

They shuffled quickly to Wick. "Bell, put a small amount of pressure on his torso. Monty, Indra, hold his legs down." They all nodded. "Alright Wick, are you ready?"

"Wait!" Raven yelled. She kneeled behind, placing his head in her lap, holding him.

'Ready?" Clarke asked once more.

He nodded, fear glazed over his eyes.

"I'm gonna count to three. 1- 2- snap!"

Wick's scream reverberated through the room.

"Alright, it's done." Clarke pulled out the supplies needed for a brace and made quick work of it over his suit. Soon enough, they were outside loading the now loopy Wick into a rover.

They all piled into their rovers and headed off, dusk blazing behind them. Clarke hadn't spoken a single word to anyone, purposefully getting into Raven's rover so Bellamy couldn't prompt her. They ended up at Skye's village for evening.

Everyone was celebrating their shocking success, sharing the village's food and version of moonshine, all but Clarke.

She stood from the table after barely eating, "I'm gonna run into the woods really quick. Nature calls." she said, a sadness coating her voice that only Bellamy noticed. Shortly after she left, Bellamy followed, claiming he was going for the same reason.

He found Clarke not too long after just standing in a clear spot next to the woods.

"Clarke."

She stayed put. "Why are you here? I'm supposed to be peeing." Her voice was coated in emotion. She was crying.

He stepped in front of her. "What's wrong? I heard what you said before. You didn't want it work? Why wouldn't you want that?"

"Because Skye was right. I'm broken."

"He said that?" Bellamy asked angrily.

'No, no. It doesn't matter. We're broken, Bell. We're missing a piece of our… of our humanity. We have done so much bad, I don't know how we could ever even want to be happy."

Bellamy grabbed Clarke's hands and pulled her closer to him. "Clarke. We did what we had to do. We had no other choice. That is and always will be true." He paused. " And happiness is a weird thing that we might not deserve, but who here is to say we don't, bedsides ourselves." He grabbed her hand placing it on his chest. "I'm happy. I am so damn happy standing here with you right now and for once I don't feel guilty or mad or sad. I just feel happy. Can you feel that?"

Clarke finally looked at Bellamy, his eyes shining with the reflection of the moonlight behind them. She kissed him then, hard, on the lips. Their lips moved together as though they would never get the chance to kiss again. Bellamy slid his hands around Clarke's lower back, pulling her in closer. They stood like that for a while, before finally separating, out of breath.

"Clarke- I love you." Bellamy said abruptly, looking her in the eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

Bellamy didn't expect the words to fly out of his mouth the way they did, but it was as though his tongue could no longer hold back the truth.

"I love you. I really do… and it's okay if you can't say it back right now with everything that happened with Finn and Lexa… But I needed you to know. I love you, Clarke."

Clarke stood silently as Bellamy spoke. She thought about Finn and no matter how much she loved him they were never going to be together; he broke her heart and there was no coming back from that. And then she thought about Lexa and how strong and beautiful she was, but she realized a while ago that even if Lexa hadn't died, how long would they have lasted? Would another war tear them apart? Would a decision benefiting an opposite side catapult them into enemies once more? They would have never worked.

And then there was Bellamy. Bellamy who had been there since the very beginning, the strong, scared, passionate, angry Bellamy. No matter how much they disliked each other, he still did whatever she needed. He was always there to defend her, to fight for her, to argue with her, to downright annoy her; he was always there.

"I've realized something." Clarke finally spoke. "You're not going anywhere. So many times you could have been killed, so many times you could have left, and you haven't." she stopped having one more realization.

Her chest had ignited a flame so deep it couldn't be snuffed out, and it had been there for a while, she just only now realized what it was.

"I love you too, Bellamy, so much."

Bellamy wrapped his arms around Clarke, kissing her forehead. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this, it's almost embarrassing." He said, laughing softly against her skin.

"I'm half curious to know how long exactly." she lifted her head to Bellamy's neck, softly leaving a kiss on his Adams apple.

"It's not much of a story, really." Bellamy lowered his mouth to Clarke's temple, planting a kiss there, trailing one to her cheekbone, then to her jaw.

"Oh, I'm sure it's a least a little bit interesting." she whispered, a little out of breath, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Bellamy continued to leave a kiss in the wake of his words, moving left to right, everywhere but her mouth.

"I really don't want to bore you, princess." he joked.

"Trust me, I'm not easy to bore."

Bellamy's mouth hovered just in front of hers. Their lips grazed so slightly, but it sent a chill down Clarke's spine, already ravenous for the taste of his lips.

"If you insist." The words came out of his mouth like a growl and then his lips were on hers. She moaned into his mouth as he took hold of her tongue, and backed her into a tree. They both laughed through kisses, realizing how ridiculous this all was. Suddenly, he lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Bellamy Blake, you are crazy." she laughed.

"For you." He said.

"Okay, never say that again." She laughed.

"Yeah, that was bad." He said, agreeing in shared laughter.

They continued that way for a while, their hands exploring each other's bodies with a newly found sense of urgency.

"Do you want to head over to that clearing behind the village?" Clarke asked, lust in her eyes.

He understood what Clarke was really asking, and while he wanted nothing more to go to that clearing with her, he was still hesitant. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am so positively sure I want nothing more than to go to that clearing with you." She affirmed.

Bellamy looked at her, soaking her in, all that she was at that moment, and let her lead the way.


	17. Chapter 17

Clarke moved in Bellamy's arms, trying to escape the blazing morning sun from beaming into her face. Her body ached from lying directly on the ground all night. Thankfully she had a blanket in her pack that at least offered some protection from the forest floor.

She looked up at the man lying beside her, his chest rising and falling slowly. He never looked so beautiful, for all that he was at that moment was all that she would ever need.

It started faint, but it grew louder by the minute. "Clarke! Bellamy!" Someone was calling their names. Clarke scrambled upwards, realizing that she didn't have clothes on; she looked at her watch to see that it was well past the time they were supposed to be departing from the village.

"Bellamy!" Clarke whispered. "Bell, get up!" she shook him, roughly.

"What?" he muttered sleepily.

"We overslept and now people are looking for us and they're about to see you butt naked!"

Bellamy quickly rose off the ground, putting on layers of clothing quicker than she had expected.

"What? I'm not trying to have my little sister see my lying naked in the woods. That'd be something she'd never let me live down."

Clarke laughed, "Yeah, I probably wouldn't let you live that down either."

Bellamy closed the space between Clarke and him and kissed her softly. "Last night was-"

"Everything I thought it would be." she finished his sentence, smiling. "Alright, let's pack this up. Also, what are we going to say was the reason we were out here all night or are we just winging it?" she asked.

"Winging it always sounds like fun." Bellamy smiled.

"There you are!" Raven shouted, coming into view. "We have been looking for you guys for an hour."

Bellamy and Clarke exchanged a look. "Sorry, we were stargazing and fell asleep and I totally forgot to set the alarm on my watch." Clarke said.

"Oh please, who are you kidding?" Octavia chimed in, coming from the opposite direction. "Just admit it, you guys are boning."

"Octavia, I told you it wasn't like that." Clarke said.

"Yeah, that hickey on your neck suggests otherwise." Octavia snapped back.

"O, that's enough!" Bellamy said, annoyed. "You're mad at me, so take it out on me."

"You're right, Bell. I'm mad you, but you're still my brother and everyone Clarke has been with has wound up dead and I'll be damned if you're next."

Clarke shuttered, stepping backwards as Octavia's hurtful words sliced through her.

"Octavia! That was wrong on so many levels." Raven shouted. "I think you should head back to camp and wait for us there before you say something else you'll regret."

"Whatever." She shrugged, and walked back through the trees.

"She didn't mean that. She's just in pain." Raven said.

"It's alright, Raven. We'll be there in a minute. Thanks." Bellamy said,

Raven nodded and headed back the same way Octavia went.

"Clarke." Bellamy said.

Clarke had knelt down to continue packing up her things, her back to Bellamy.

"Clarke, Raven is right. She didn't mean that. She's just hurting and needs to take it out on everyone."

Clarke stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "She's right though. I literally killed Finn and Lexa died because someone was trying to kill me."

"That is not going to be me. You said it yourself I'm not going anywhere. I'm never, ever going to leave you."

Clarke let out a long sigh, "It is really, really hard right now, but I'm going to try and believe you."

Bellamy kissed Clarke's forehead and they walked back to camp, to face whatever judgment they might find there, and beyond.


	18. Chapter 18

The trip seemed quicker back to Arkadia as they traveled along the route they had already taken. Octavia retrieved her horse and rode far past them to the next checkpoint, even after Raven's order not to. Two days passed and they had reached the first Ice Nation village and were welcomed by the very newly appointed leader and he praised them for getting rid of Serena. According to him, everyone hated her.

Their visit there was short, but Indra said it helped the relations between SkiKru and the Ice Nation greatly. They even gave them a supply of dried meat and fruit for the rest of their journey.

On the last morning of their trip the sky was grey and a thick, ominous layer of fog surrounded them while they started dismantling the camp.

"It's getting colder." Gerald said. "Fall is coming to an end.

"Yeah. It's definitely colder." Clarke said. She looked over the hill they had camped by. The valley was coated in a layer of frost, and the trees were more vacant of leaves than when the passed through the first time.

"Alright, let's get a move on. I want to get there by dusk." Raven said, loading some final things into the rover.

The morning continued to be grim, rain starting to fall not even two hours into their trip. "Of course the last day has to be the worst." Raven said.

"You definition of worse is definitely not a shared one." Monty said, laughing. "There was the day when Clarke almost died, and then the day when we got attacked by a giant snake and then Wick almost died, but sure the rain is really bad."

"He's got a point, babe." Wick said, laughing along with Monty.

Raven seemed like she was going to snap back but ended up laughing along with the rest of the rover, even Gerald, who rarely spoke was chuckling.

As they continued along their path for a while longer, they entered the woods, where the trees were hanging lowered than usual because of all the water falling. Suddenly, Bellamy's rover stopped in front of them. Mud was flying back towards the windshield as the front rover's tires skidded; they were stuck.

Raven hopped out to meet Bellamy at the back of the rover.

"You guys need a push?" she asked, rain pelting her in the face.

"I hope that's all it is. The engine stalled but I started it again." Bellamy said.

"Shit. Water might have gotten into it."

"Yeah." Bellamy scratched his head, annoyed.

"Let's cross our fingers that it's fine because if it's not we're probably gonna spend another night out here." She said.

"I'll walk before I sleep on a rock one more night."

Over the next half an hour, the entire group worked to wedge the rover free. It seemed that not only was it stuck in the mud but the back wheel got tangled into some long weeds.

Raven kicked the tire in anger. "This is bullshit!"

"I don't get how it's just not moving." Clarke said. We've pulled out all of the weeds and made enough room for the wheel."

"Everyone stop." A rain soaked Indra spoke from the back of the group. She was gripping her sword.

Indra's eyes scanned the tree line and they stopped at a fixated point.

"I see the other one." Gerald whispered.

"What is happening?" Bellamy whispered, trying not to move.

"Two panthers in the trees. I've locked eyes with one, but they are going to attack soon." She paused, moved her head just slightly. "How fast can you get to your gun?" she asked.

"I don't know." He said.

"Once I move they will attack. The four of us will attempt to hold them off while you all get guns. You must move fast though, they are quick and lethal if you don't have the upper hand."

"The five of us, actually." Octavia said, slowly sliding her sword out of her belt.

"Gerald, Rumi. You will take the one to the left. Hedra, Octavia will take the one to the right."

They were all so acutely aware of their surroundings at this point that the rain barely fazed any of them. Their hearts were all beating so quickly it was almost as they were in sync, and the tension was nearly as thick as the mist that obscured most of their view.

Indra slid her sword further out of her holder, and without much of a hesitation she charged the awaiting beast.


	19. Chapter 19

"MOVE!" she yelled.

And then there was chaos. The two beasts that had been stalking their prey emerged from the trees and pounced towards their attackers.

There was a scramble for the guns but soon enough anyone without a sword had one.

The fight had begun and blood had already been spilt from both sides. The five of them had their guns pointed but had nowhere to shoot.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Bellamy shouted.

The huge beasts snapped and snarled, their eyes glowing a dark, menacing yellow.

"We have to draw them away somehow." Clarke said. "If we can distract them, they'll head towards us and you can get a shot."

"Okay, how?" Monty asked, frantically.

"I've only got one idea." She said and the proceeded to climb onto the roof of the rover.

"Clarke, what are you doing?" Bellamy yelled.

"Causing a distraction." She said, and the leapt off the rover and onto the back of the beast.

It instantly growled, snapping at his back, averting its attention to Clarke.

"Run!" Clarke said to the bloodied group.

Clarke continued to hold on but knew she couldn't much longer.

"Bellamy, don't miss!" she yelled, knowing what she needed to do next.

Bellamy found his eye line, taking off the safety. And then it happened in an instant. Clarke threw herself from the panther and landed directly in front of it onto her back. It stalked towards her quickly, mouth open, prepared to go directly for her jugular. The beast closed in on her face, it's whiskers and foul breath grazing her chest, and then there was a shot. It fell to its side, dead.

There was a second shot and the second panther went down, hitting the ground with a loud, resonant thud. Indra had gashes in so many places, her all black clothing was nearly all red this point.

She kneeled down, placing her hand on the head of the beast and closed her eyes. "Yu gonplei ste odon."

She stood soon after that and headed to the other panther, once again placing her hand on it's head, and it was as though she awoke it because it leapt up and immediately pounced onto the first person in front of it: Clarke.

It landed heavily on her, clearly unstable, but still attempting to fight until it's last breath.

Octavia grabbed a gun and aimed at the panther just as Bellamy jumped on top of it, grabbing it by the neck, heaving it upwards. Before Octavia could process what happened, a shot went off from her gun, hitting the panther in the heart, finally killing it.

Clarke crawled from under the mass and tried to pull it away from Bellamy who was trapped beneath. "Help me!" she yelled.

Monty and Gerald ran to move the beast and Bellamy laid there, a bullet hole in his jacket. Clarke ripped it open to see that it had entered through his rib cage, just below the heart. She turned him over to see that it had exited it from the other side. She let out a sigh of relief.

Octavia dropped the gun, running to Bellamy.

"Is he okay? Is he going to live?" she yelled, hysterically.

"Octavia, get me my med pack from the rover. Get it now!" she shouted.

Octavia ran to the rover and Clarke returned her focus to Bellamy. "Bell, can you hear me? You're going to be fine. I'm going to fix this." She began taking off his layers of clothing so she would have room to work. He was barely conscious and tears began to well up into her eyes, her fear so immense it was nearly stopping her heart.

Octavia returned with the pack and she immediately cleaned the area and looked through the wound to see if there was any noticeable internal damage.

Tears were steadily falling down her face at this point as she continued to work on the one person that was never supposed to leave her.

His eyes continued to flutter, "Clarke…" he whispered.

"Stop it, okay. Listen, I have to lift you up to wrap this bandage around you and it's going to hurt like hell, and I can't give you morphine just yet so you're gonna be really mad at me."

Clarke took a deep breath trying to steady herself as she tapped the first layer of bandage to the wound, but the fear in her heart would not allow her tears stop.

"While I'm doing this, everyone else needs to be getting ready to go. We need to get back to camp as soon as possible so my mother can work on him! Get that rover moving."

"Clarke, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." Octavia said, her breath rattled and weak.

"Octavia, right now is not the time for apologies. I'm going to need your help. I'm gonna lift him you have to hold him up so I can wrap the bandage around him and he's gonna fight it. Can you do that?" Clarke asked.

Octavia hesitated.

"Can you do that? Yes or no?" Clarke shouted.

"Yes." she said.

"Good. On the count of the three." Clarke said.

She leaned back over Bellamy. "Bell, stay with me okay, you're going to be fine."

He slightly nodded, groaning.

"1-, 2-, 3-." Clarke lifted Bellamy towards her, allowing Octavia to support his body from the back.

His yell echoed through the woods, causing the birds to stir from their resting places.

Clarke made quick work of wrapping the bandage around Bellamy's torso and soon he was flat on his back once more.

"How's the rover going guys? I'm almost done." Clarke asked

"Good to go." Wick said.

"That quick?" asked Monty.

"Turns out we didn't have the gear in neutral… that's why it wasn't moving."

Clarke shook her head as she adhered the bandage to Bellamy's skin, realizing they had just gone through all of this because of the gear being in the wrong setting.

"Bell, we're going to move you soon. Okay?" Clarke buttoned his shirt back up and draped his coat over him. She grabbed his hand, and surprisingly he applied a little bit of pressure in return.

She brushed his hair from his eyes, kissing his forehead. "You are crazy, Bellamy Blake." She whispered, and just before she pulled away he managed to let two words escape his lips. "For you." He said, reusing the joke they had laughed about just a few fateful nights ago.

Soon enough, they loaded him into what was now the medical rover where Clarke was treating anyone who had been injured during the fight.

Indra had more gashes than Clarke had bandages for so she treated the biggest and deepest for now.

"You are probably the bravest person I have ever met." Clarke said, stitching a gash on her thigh.

"I suppose for us, it is not so much bravery than it is just living. We have to be strong, and unafraid. There is no other way we know." Indra said.

Rumi held a blood soaked cloth to her forehead, resting against the back window. "I think you are brave, Clarke." she said.

"No, I'm not. I'm always afraid, all of the time." She said, moving to Rumi's wound.

"But see that's the thing, isn't it. Bravery is doing the very thing that you fear. Everything about you embodies bravery. Loving someone else when you have lost so many before him. Helping him regardless of your fear of losing him. Stopping the mountain men even though you knew it would change you for the rest of your life. Jumping onto the back of that beast without a second thought. Fear was never absent, not any one of those times. You, Clarke, are brave."

Clarke had so many things to say, but then nothing to say at the same time. She always felt so heavy, so absolutely weighed down by her fears, by her regrets, by her inability to see past the person she saw in the mirror. Maybe there was a light at the end of this endless tunnel; maybe there was hope for her after all.

Clarke finished patching up Rumi, Gerald, and Hedra, and the finally sat back for moment to take a breather. It was then that she realized she had a huge gash herself. The panther sliced through her coat, leaving a gaping wound along her chest, and just like that the pain kicked in.

She winced, attempted to clean it. "Need help with that?" Bellamy whispered, coming to for the first time in a few hours.

"Bell, how are you feeling?" Clarke checked his temperature and he was hot, a side effect from the wound. "We're almost there."

"I'm fine. Just taking a nap." He joked.

Clarke laughed, astounded that he still had the ability to joke. She winced once more now that she was aware of her wound and the adrenaline masking it had apparently worn off.

"Why don't you bandage that up? I'll be fine here." He said, hoarsely.

"Let me get you some waster first." Clarke grabbed her canteen and poured some water into Bellamy's mouth, lifting his neck. "Better?" she asked.

He nodded, apparently dozing off again.

Clarke went back to her seat and continued to take care of her wound, taking a few painkillers to take the edge off.

Soon, she was nodding off, the lulling of the now flatter road putting her sleep.

She didn't know if an hour or a few minutes passed but someone was tapping her roughly. "Clarke, clarke, wake up."

'What? What happening?" she muttered.

"Something is wrong with Bellamy." Indra said.


	20. Chapter 20

Clarke sprung from her seat and went to him. He was sweating profusely, but he was shivering uncontrollably.

"He has a fever. I think his wound is getting infected." she said.

She undressed his bandage and sure enough, the wound had grown dark and was oozing fluid.

"How far away are we?" she asked Wick.

"Twenty minutes." he said.

Clarke ran to her med kit and frantically began pulling out all sorts of medical supplies. "Damn, I don't have any IVs or antibiotics!"

She grabbed a bottle of antiseptic and began dousing Bellamy's wound with it.

"Bellamy can you hear me? I need you to stay awake, okay?" Clarke shouted at him, gripping his face. "Bell! Can you hear me?"

He came to slightly, his teeth chattering together so hard it sounded like a knife on a chopping board. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Great, I need you to stay awake. We're almost home and they're gonna fix you up okay, we just need to make it there."

He half nodded, "Talk to me." he said.

Clarke continued to keep the wound area clear, adding a new gauze pad.

"Okay, um. Remember when we first got here and we were looking for Jasper and I fell into that booby trap and you caught me?"

"Yeah." he whispered.

"I definitely thought you were gonna let me go." Clarke smiled slightly. "That's when we hated each other and you wanted my wristband, remember? We couldn't agree on anything."

"I never hated you, Clarke." he said.

She knelt down next to Bellamy using every ounce of will power that she could muster not to cry. She would not break down. He was going to make it, he had to make it.

"You were annoying, but I never hated you."

Clarke let out a small laugh. She grabbed onto Bellamy's hand, squeezing it tight.

"Ten minutes!" Wick said.

"You hear that, Bell? We're so close!" she said.

It was beginning to become nearly impossible for Bellamy to stay conscious, his words slurring. "Clarke, if I don't make it, tell Octavia I don't blame her. This isn't her fault."

"Bellamy, don't even start talking like that. We're almost there. You're going to be fine." It was becoming harder and harder for her to keep her tears in check.

"You're so damn beautiful." Bellamy said, squeezing her hand. "And-" Suddenly, he started coughing violently. Clarke rolled him onto his side, and he began spewing out blood.

"No, no, no. What's happening?!" Clarke grabbed a towel and placed it over his mouth. "Okay, we're almost there so let's get him ready to move."

Bellamy finally stopped coughing and lied back down, semi-conscious, soaked in his own blood.

"Indra, hand me that panel behind you. We're gonna use it as a stretcher."

In less than a minute, they turned the panel into a stretcher and got Bellamy onto it, strapping him to it with seat belts.

They could see the lights of Arkadia from where they were, a beacon of hope in the eyes of Clarke.

"Bell, we're here." She looked down to him to see that his eyes were closed and he was no longer moving. "Bellamy!" she put her fingers to his neck, and there was nothing.

"No, you aren't doing this. Damnit, you are not going to die!" Clarke immediately began CPR and didn't stop even after they reached the gates of Arkadia.

Wick was honking the horn and but the closer they got to the gate, the sooner they all realized that he wasn't stopping. He blew right through, stopping precisely at the entrance.

"I can't stop doing CPR! He hasn't come to yet!" Clarke realized there would only be one solution. She climbed on top of Bellamy, and continued to do chest compressions.

"Let's go, lets go!" she yelled.

Every available hand grabbed the stretcher and ran through the Ark, all while Clarke was trying to revive Bellamy.

Abby was already standing in the operating room, paddles ready, after a call from Raven. They placed the stretcher on the table and Clarke hopped off. Octavia ran in then, standing in the corner, tears streaming down her face.

"Clear!" Abby yelled.

The shock made Bellamy's body jump upwards, but there was nothing.

"Clear!" Abby shocked him again, and nothing.

One more time, "Clear!" Nothing.

Clarke could not see what the world looked like without Bellamy. He was the spark that ignited her life again. He was the light her darkness. To him, she would never be Wanheda, only Clarke; always only Clarke.

Abby turned off the paddles, realizing there was nothing more she could do.

Clarke lost it. "Damnit, Bellamy! I need you!" Her words were nearly intelligible through her sobs. "Give me the paddles!" she shouted to her mother.

"Clarke-" Abby tried to speak.

"Give me the damn paddles!"

Abby handed her the paddles and stepped away. "Charge to three hundred." Clarke said, and pressed the metal to Bellamy's chest. "Clear!" she yelled.

Again, she tried, and nothing.

A guttural scream erupted from her throat. There was so much pain and anguish it nearly shattered the room.

"No. I'm not giving up." she said her tears. She interlaced her fingers and began to pound on Bellamy's chest, above his heart.

"Wake up!" she yelled, "Wake up!"

A forceful gasp escaped from Bellamy's mouth, and then suddenly, finally, he was breathing again.

Abby's shock was over just as quickly as it came and she immediately began to hook Bellamy up to IVs and monitors, pumping the necessary medicine into his veins.

Clarke continued to cry. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, making sure it wasn't a dream. His hand was warm, just as it always was, and she squeezed it, just as she always did, and even though she thought she might have been too hysterical to tell the difference between real and not real, it almost felt like he squeezed it back.

"Clarke, I have to open him up now." Abby said, quietly, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

Clarke nodded, letting his hand go. She stepped back, taking a final look before leaving.

She walked past Octavia who attempted to speak to her. She walked past the rest of the ten who were waiting outside. She walked past anyone and anything that might have been around her, through the destroyed gate and into the darkness.


	21. Chapter 21

Death changes you, whether you caused it or witnessed it. It is so absolute, so immensely irrevocable. It is nothingness, the state of nothing. That's why it causes so much anguish and grief, because while the people you lose are still physically with you, they have become nothing and will no longer be anything at all. For Clarke, she had experienced this time and time again.

As she walked aimlessly her sobs had turned into quiet tears that felt like they would never stop.

Bellamy was alive, but she still felt the lost as if it actually happened because the feeling of nothingness lingered so deep in her bones and tonight it was so damn close. Even though she never stopped doing CPR and even though she charged the paddles again and again, somewhere deep inside she had given up; she felt herself lose hope.

She collapsed onto the grassy hill that overlooked Arkadia, looking into the moonlight.

" _What's wrong with me?"_ she thought.

"Clarke?" a quiet voice came from behind her.

She wiped her tears and turned to see that it was Octavia. Instead of speaking, she simply turned back around to continue looking at the moon.

No yelling ensued so Octavia took a set next to her. "Um. I just wanted to say thank you. For saving my brother."

Clarke didn't respond.

"I understand now, that you love him. I've never seen anyone fight so hard for someone before." She paused. "And I should have never said what I said. It was wrong and stupid and I'm sorry."

Clarke looked at Octavia for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Alright, well that's what I wanted to tell you." Octavia said, getting up."

"Wait." said Clarke, not bothering to look away from the moon. "Stay for a while."

Octavia took her seat once more, waiting for Clarke to say something else.

"I know that you're sorry for what you said, but I also know that you meant every word. I probably would have said the same thing if I were you. I'm so broken, I mean like I'm really messed up, but something you failed to realize is so is Bellamy. He killed those people in Mount Weather just as much as me, he was responsible for killing three hundred grounders and partially responsible for the death of Lincoln, which he really, really regrets. He's also partially responsible for the culling on the Ark. And while all of those things were done to protect people that we cared about, it rips out huge chunks of your soul, until your left with a shell. We're just try to find our humanity again, we're just trying to feel again."

She paused. "And maybe we don't deserve it. Who knows? But I do know that I am in love with him. I'm so in love with him that I gave up tonight. Inside I kept thinking what if I just let him go, what if I just let him be in peace. He wouldn't have to suffer anymore, he wouldn't have to hurt or fight or struggle anymore." Her tears were starting one more. "But I loved him too much to stop and too much to know how he would feel if he left you alone." Clarke finished, feeling a little bit lighter.

A few hours passed and the sun was peaking just above the horizon. Clarke and Octavia stayed on the grassy hill, talking, eating, but just mostly sitting quietly. They listened to the night in all its glory. It wasn't quiet on earth the way it was in space. Space was infinite silence. On earth, no matter how dark or how late it became, there was always noise, always life.

The sun was hitting the treetops when Octavia stood up to leave. "I'm going to go check on Bellamy. I'll let you know if he's awake." she said.

Clarke nodded, "Okay." she said.

Octavia made her way to Bellamy's room and surprisingly he was awake. He was sitting up slightly, with his eyes nearly closed. He had been sipping on some water through a straw when she came in.

"Bell, hey. I didn't expect you to be awake yet." She said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot." He said, a slight smile creeping onto his lips.

"Bellamy…" Octavia tried to speak.

"I mean, if you wanted me dead that badly you had so many opportunities. I just don't get why you chose that moment. Were you trying to make it look like an accident?"

Octavia sat down, defeated and unsure of what to say.

"O, you know I'm joking, right?" he said, reaching for her.

"I know. I'm just- I've just been thinking what if you didn't make it, you would have died knowing I killed you, even if it wasn't an accident, and everyone would have thought I did it on purpose because I mean let's face it, I've been treating you like shit."

"Octavia, even if I didn't make it, I think the people who know you the best would know that you never would intentionally kill me; no matter how much you hate me."

"I don't hate you, Bell. I'm just so goddamn mad at you."

"And you have every right to be. I really, really let you down and I'm still so sorry for it and I'll spend my life trying to make it right." he said.

Octavia stood up and went to give Bellamy a hug, careful not to come in contact with his bandages.

"I missed you, big brother," she said, letting her head rest on his chest.

"You too. And Mom would be pissed if she knew were fighting for so long."

Octavia laughed and they began to reminisce about their mother and simpler times on the ark.

A little while later, Octavia realized she had forgotten to do something.

"Oh! I have to tell Clarke you're awake."

"Wait, Octavia!" he stopped her before she left the room.

"Yeah?"

"How's she doing?" he said, concern coating his voice.

"Um. She's not okay, but- but she loves you, Bell. She really loves you." She said. "I'll get her and then you can talk to her."

He nodded and Octavia went to get Clarke.


	22. Chapter 22

Birds replaced the bats that soared above Clarke's head. As one went to sleep the other was awake and taking the day. The sun shone brightly onto the field, the morning frost melting away.

"Didn't think you'd break night out here." Kane said, stopping next to Clarke. "It nearly went down to thirty degrees."

"It's alright. I had some company." She said

"You guys did a great job. Raven told me what happened with the plant. We're going to be organizing another trip for the upcoming weeks to head to the one in the south. Hopefully it will be just as useful as the one up north. Raven even suggested that we get on the radio and try some different frequencies. Maybe other people are out there like Mount Weather, with technology. We could warn them and hopefully shut this down all over the world."

"That's a good idea. Those are all really good ideas." Clarke said, smiling. The enthusiasm in Kane's voice was calming, soothing even.

Kane nodded, "Also, I wanted to talk to you about an opportunity. I was speaking with your mom and we were thinking maybe it would be a good time to finally make you an official doctor on the Ark." He paused. Clarke was staring at him intently.

"We need more than just Abby and Jackson now-a-days and it would also help with training other aspiring physicians as well. And you could still be our mission medic, as I liked to call you while you were away." He chuckled. "Does that sound like something you'd want?"

Beside the flame that was ignited by Bellamy, a feeling sprung up and took root in Clarke as Kane was talking. It was hope.

"Yeah, that does sound like something I'd want. I'd really like to do that." Clarke said, standing. She hugged Kane then, unexpected for the both of them.

"Thank you." She said.

He nodded. "Want to join me for breakfast? I think your mother is down there already."

They began walking towards the ark. "Actually, I think I'm gonna check on-"

"Clarke!" Octavia was jogging towards them. "Clarke, Bellamy is awake!"

Clarke laughed slightly, turning to Kane. "I was going to check on Bellamy, but I'll try to catch you guys down there in a little while."

"Sounds good." He said, leaving Clarke with Octavia.

"Hey, he asked for you when you're ready." Octavia said.

Clarke nodded.

"Knock, knock." Clarke said, slowly opening Bellamy's door.

He turned to face her and smiled, "Hey."

She walked to his bed, looking down at his bandages. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm okay. The morphine is helping a lot. It's kind of hard to breathe with the whole shattered rib thing though."

Clarke rubbed her fingers over the burn marks on his chest, left by how many times she used the paddles on him.

He grabbed her hand then, putting it between his own.

"Octavia told me what you did, how you never stopped. I remember little bits from the rover and but I remember your voice the most. You never gave up. Thank you."

He kissed her hand as he held it, gratitude filling his eyes.

"I wanted to though. I wanted to give up." she said, slipping her hand out of his grasp.

"What?" he asked, trying to understand.

"I thought maybe if I just stopped, if I finally let go, you could be at peace. But I kept thinking about how in love I am with you, because I am so absolutely in love with you and I might have been selfish but I didn't care." She paused. "I need you to be alive, plain and simple. I need you here, in my life, in Octavia's life, because I cannot fathom a place where you do not exist."

Bellamy attempted to sit up, successfully after a few moments and leaned towards Clarke.

"I already told you I'm never gonna leave you and I meant it, Clarke." He said, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

He grasped Clarke's hands once more. "This is what I remember when I was going in and out. Somewhere in between the light and the dark, I felt your hand grab mine. I knew it was your hand somehow and I just held on tight. I had faith in you, that you weren't going to let me go."

Bellamy leaned closer to Clarke's face, his eyes on her lips.

"Wait, I just have something else to say."

He stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You're the bravest person I know." she admitted. "I could list all the reasons why I know this, but we'd be here for hours. Just know that, okay?" she said.

Bellamy was smiling. "Okay, I'll take it." He said, leaning again once more to kiss Clarke.

Their lips met and Clarke kissed him back, deeply. She leaned towards him, putting her body as close to him as she could, and suddenly she pulled away. Clarke looked at his face, his black hair sticking up in different directions, his honey brown eyes reflecting the fluorescent light, the freckles that speckled his nose and cheeks. He was so beautiful and flawed and she knew she would never want anything more in her life.


	23. The Final Chapter

Over a month had passed since that day. The ten went on another mission just a week after they returned, to the southern plant, Jasper replacing Bellamy. They weren't able to restart the plant, but with Raven's genius they were able to contain the leak for the foreseeable future.

Winter had settled in. They had their first snow at camp and it was an experience for everyone. Soon, it would be their first Christmas on the ground and everyone was joyous as the impending doom was slowly coming to halt and the holiday spirit was alive and strong.

Clarke was nearly done with her training to become an official doctor for the Ark and Bellamy was up and walking for about a week and couldn't be more anxious to hold a gun again.

"You'll get to re-join the guard soon enough, Bell. "You don't want to blow another rib out, do you?" Clarke asked, as they walked back to their room after dinner.

Bellamy shook his head. "I don't have to shoot anything. I can just be on watch. I'm just so bored in here."

"Well, in that case, we're going on a little outing tonight!" Clarke said, excitedly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, curiously.

"Well, you're on your feet again and it's the holiday season and Monty made some holiday moonshine." Clarke said.

"Did he now?" Bellamy laughed.

"Yes! So get your coat and hat, we're gonna be late!"

They made their way out of the camp, ending up at the drop ship. A large bon-fire was burning in the middle of the clearing, warming up the once dark and cold atmosphere. Monty was there handing out his holiday moonshine. Jasper was there was well, in control of the music, along with Octavia, Raven, Wick, Miller and his boyfriend, among others who were part of the original one hundred.

The happiness that was in the air hit Clarke hard, in a good away. She hadn't felt so normal in a long time.

She and Bellamy walked over to Monty to get their share of the moonshine. "Hey guys! Bellamy, you're walking!" he was a little buzzed already.

"Everyone! Cheers to the man who fought a panther… then got shot… and lived to tell the story! WOO!" Him and the rest of the group cheered to Bellamy.

"Thanks Monty." Bellamy said, laughing.

"Here you go." He said, passing them their cups.

They went to sit by the fire.

"Are you doing okay?" Clarke asked.

"Yeah, never better." He said. "This is actually great. I really needed this."

"Great! I'm glad we're doing this too." Clarke said.

"Um. I actually wanted to wait until Christmas but I thought I might as well just give this to you now, because why not, and I'm impatient and can't wait that long." Bellamy chuckled.

"Oh, a present?" Clarke said, teasing.

"Sort of." He said, smiling. "This journey that we're on where we're trying to forgive ourselves and be happy, I know that I'm never going to find anyone else to share that with, I'm never gonna want to. It's always going to be you, Clarke. No matter what."

He pulled a small item out of his pocket, keeping it balled up in his hand.

"I knew I wanted this when you saved my life, when the reason I stayed alive was because of you, in more ways than one."

Bellamy-" Clarke began.

He opened his hand to reveal a small, slightly silver band and knelt down on one knee. "Clarke, it's always going to be you. Will you spend the rest of this crazy life with me?"

Clarke stared at him, her heart beating so fast it might burst. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and she didn't know why. The flame deep in her chest had made it's way to the surface and it was burning brightly.

"Bellamy Blake…" she shook her head, smiling. "You're crazy."

"For you." He said, grinning from ear and ear.

She laughed at their joke. "Yes, I want to spend this crazy life with you. There's never going to be anyone else for me either."

Tears were coming down Clarke's cheeks as Bellamy slid the ring onto her finger. Bellamy smiled, kissing Clarke as the fire continued to blaze on in front of them.

"Should we say something or should we just wing it?" Clarke asked, her smile too infectious to hold back.

Clarke looked into Bellamy's eyes, his smile reaching them, and before he could say anything she knew what he answer was going to be.

THE END

\- If you have any questions about any of the decisions I made through out writing the story, don't hesitate to ask! Thanks for reading!


	24. More chapters?

I'm potentially thinking about writing a new series of chapters but I'm not sure if there's any interest. If you want to see this story continue, leave a comment! Thank you!


	25. Finally going to start writing again!

Hi everyone!

I first want to say thank you so much for all of the great reviews! They have been a huge motivating factor for me to continue writing.

I also want to apologize for not posting sooner. I just finished season 4 and I already have some ideas floating around in my head and I can't wait to get them down on paper!

For this next story, I thought I wanted it to be a continuation of '6 months' but after watching the end of the fourth season, I am dying to pick up where they left off. So it will be an entirely new story, still shipping Bellarke, of course! I'm also kind of sad that they barely had an episode together until the end :(

I really hope you guys enjoy this new story and I hope you like what I end up creating! I will post it as it's own fic so this will be the last update on here so be sure to follow me if you want a notification when I post the first chapter!

Thanks again, and please leave any suggestions or comments of what you might like to see in this upcoming story.

-Sam


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